Robin's Diary
by King Abbadon
Summary: In which Robin wakes up as a child, spends several days in denial, gets a bit of revenge, loses a bit of her sanity, plays a bit of dress-up, and tries to save Ohara through the most Luffy-inspired of means. Mission accomplished, time to wake up? Nope. Half plot-driven, half crackfic.
1. Chapter 1

**In thinking up ideas for a new segment for the One Piece Compendium, I got stuck on the idea of time travel and how to make it original. Stuck in a very literal way when one idea refused to leave me head because of how fun it sounded. So behold, here it is. Being a time travel fic…it's more or less a crack-fic for the purposes of speeding along the plot we already know, but will break with its theme of being a crack-fic journal of Robin's experiences time traveling when there's new plot or changes to original plot to cover.**

 **Robin's Insanity Journal**

 **Chapter 1 - Ohara**

 **Day 1**

This is a rather peculiar dream. I haven't revisited my childhood ever since Luffy and the rest of the Straw Hats freed me from Enies Lobby. The last time I can recall it happening was the day before we arrived in Water 7, with flashes of Aokiji freezing my nakama and I just before I woke up in a cold sweat. Except that I'd been an adult the entire time, last time I had this type of dream. Even stranger is that the dream was rather blurry a few minutes after I'd calmed down, but this dream is really lucid. Incredibly so; I don't think I've ever had a dream where I can reflect on the past while in the past.

Waking up to the sight of my horrid aunt demanding that I get to cleaning the house wasn't exactly pleasant; the very first thing I did was use my Hana Hana no Mi powers to bind her to the wall as I walked out of the house rather annoyed. I'd tried pinching myself to wake up but that doesn't seem to be working, so it appears that I'll have to suffer through this until I wake up.

It being a dream, I did indulge myself….just a little. The first boy to try and throw a tomato at me quickly found himself on the ground after an arm slapped him upside the head. After that, most of the children were scared off and ran away, leaving me to calmly walk down to the beach where I'd first met Saul.

I'd contemplated walking to the Tree of Knowledge, but I really did not want to have to revisit some of the most painful moments of my childhood, half afraid that my dream would turn into the day of Ohara's destruction. I instead chose to sit in the surf until this dream was over, figuring that it'd be the less painful out of all options.

With nothing to do, I reflected on what had been happening just before this odd dream. The Ninja-Pirates-Mink-Samurai alliance had split up into teams after Jack's defeat, with Luffy, Nami, Chopper, and Brook leaving to rescue Sanji. I had stayed behind on Zou to guard Momonosuke, awaiting further instructions from my Captain. Presumably, our next move would have been to regroup on Wano and confront Kaido, but I can't really recall the details of the days that followed Luffy's departure…no matter, I assume that once I wake up I'll be able to recall the details.

I spent the entire day there until hunger forced me to leave my vigil by the surf at sunset. I dragged my feet on the way back home, uneager to have to deal with my aunt, frustrated that my dream hadn't ended yet. As expected, she was hostile when I returned. I once again bound her to the wall as I grabbed a few things to eat and turned around, meaning to walk out again when I spotted a journal and pen lying innocuously on the kitchen table which I realized with a shock was the journal I used to write in as a child. Shooting what was surely an unimpressive withering glare from an 8-year old girl at my aunt, I marched out back to the beach. I received a few questioning glances from the villagers of Ohara, confused at my being out so late but ignored them as I made my way to my old spot. I looked through the journal as I ate my apple and to my surprise, found it blank when I've been writing in it since I was 6 years old.

Bored, slightly confused, and with little sunlight remaining, I began to write down in this journal to help me sort out my thoughts on this odd dream. What a frustrating dream…I haven't been this annoyed since Franky made lewd faces in Chopper's body. I suppose I'll just take inspiration from my Captain and sleep out under the stars; surely, my dream will be over once I fall asleep and none of this will matter anymore.

 **Day 2**

To my great frustration, my dream was not over when I fell asleep, as I woke up to a face full of brine. On second thought, sleeping out on the beach was perhaps not my greatest idea. I barely made out of the surf before it could pull me in in my weakened state. Chalk one down for another idea of Luffy-kun's that I should have thought over very hard before following along with.

 **Day 3**

After three days of wandering and getting small forms of payback at those who tormented me, I'm now no longer at bored and am instead worried. I've never experienced a dream so drawn out and realistic, with none of the more abstract happenings one can expect in a dream. I should know, as I've been so bored I tried to see if I could perhaps fly, change shapes, or stretch. In my defense, I was very, very desperate. Needless to say, none of these worked out. I'm just glad nobody saw me trying to fly. It would have made Pirates Docking 6: Big Emperor look downright pedestrian. Thankfully, none of my nakama will ever find out about this. Nami, if you're reading through my not-diary right now, I've got two words to say to you, because I'm not afraid of taking you down with me. Bathroom Incident. Put it down and pretend you never saw anything.

 **Day 4**

After so many years of living, being back in this position is…maddening. I'm about as physically strong as I was as an eight-year old girl but the powers of my fruit seem to match my last memories of me as an adult. I'm legitimately wondering if I've begun to lose my mind, or if there any tropical diseases on Zou that cause delirium. It's just my luck that Chopper's off with Luffy. Hopefully, I'm not a rotting corpse with a brain of mush by the time my nakama return, dereshishishi….ahem. No one must ever know that I actually still laugh like that sometimes unless I catch myself and instead giggle. Nami, I've warned you!

 **Day 5**

After so many days of this, I've decided to accept that this dream isn't so much a dream as it is a replaying of my life. I'm unsure what to label this. A simulation? A disease-induced coma illusion? Time travel? Regardless, I've realized that this experience is not restricted by my actual experiences in life as I've seen and heard things which I have no recollection of having ever occurred. In particular, an overly amorous pair of locals whom I overheard as I wandered the village late at night…best forgotten. Yes, indeed.

As a result, I'm curious to test the limits of what I can and can't change. I'm not convinced that this is a real, material existence but I must admit that I feel a sense of…agency, to act and change what happened in my past. Call it a burning curiosity to save the figments of my imagination that happen to look like my childhood home and friends, and see the changes that occur. As a historian, the possibilities of what can change…are endless. The first thing that occurred to me is the Ohara incident. The second is the tragedy that was The War of the Best for our beloved Captain…If only I can reach out to him before Kuma whisks me off to Tequila Wolf! But that is to come much later. Right now, my Captain isn't even born yet. Come to think of it, Gol D. Roger still sails the seas. I wonder…anyways, on reflection, it rather shocked me that the second thing to spring to my mind was Luffy's painful moment. I'm no stranger to these, my own life is a testament to this. I suppose I must simply chalk it up to it being the most prominent instance of grief that I can recall in recent memory…I suppose that in a way, I did make peace with the tragedies of my past in the end when Luffy rescued me, hence why they did not immediately jump to mind.

Also, I'm rather regretting acting out now…my, this is embarrassing. Thank Oda my crew will never know.

Addendum:

Looking back at my early reflections on my Captain is so cute, dereshish-damn. Even in writing, I can't escape it.

 **Day 6**

My plans are proceeding smoothly. I showed up at the Tree of Knowledge and managed to convince Clover to let me take my scholar's exam early, which I passed with flying colors. I was really torn about metaphorically raiding the Tree of Knowledge for all the knowledge I could amass on the Poneglyphs but…I must admit, Luffy's rubbed off on me more than I ever thought possible. Where is the adventure in that? My lifelong adventure has been to discover the True History by my own actions, and the truth is still out there, waiting to be unearthed. And part of that dream is to do so alongside my nakama, sailing with them forever. I will not spoil that dream for myself. On another note, I finally checked the calendar and ascertained that I had approximately 22 days left until Saul's arrival.

My preparations so far have been physical training, nutrition, and preparing an escape route for as many people as possible from Ohara. Early on in my brainstorming, I'd been forced to admit defeat on one front. Ohara was doomed. Simply put, I'm not the demon I've been made out to be at the age of eight. I can't simply destroy the Buster Call on my own, and less so face Aokiji. I may have grown stronger during the 2 years apart from the rest of the crew, but to my frustration, I never mastered being able to consciously control Haki. My tutor, Sabo, had done his best and he continued to coach me to the day I left, believing I was very close to unlocking it, but alas, I failed to do so before the 2 years were up. A lot of that time was spent aiding the Revolutionaries in various operations, admittedly. Part of that difficulty stems in the fact that I displayed instances of both Armament and Observation Haki during the course of my training. Sabo first focused on Observation Haki, but a lack of results meant that we switched the plan around and instead focused on Armament for the second year of training. As of what I last remember, I'm not able to reliably use either, and have been completely unable to access it, even by accident, since this 'awakening' in my younger self. To my utmost frustration.

With respect to nutrition, I hate to admit that I didn't really eat what I should have until I was almost a fully grown woman. Part of that is tied to being constantly on the run. One can't exactly be picky about what they do and do not eat, or how often they are able to eat. Thankfully, I'm happy with both my health and my appearance as an adult, but I've always felt that I could perhaps have been another inch or so taller. Right now, I have the luxury of food being fairly plentiful, and so I'm partaking as I should for a girl my age.

On fitness, I may as well be a common goon in terms of my combat capabilities. I get that I'm an eight-year old girl at the moment…but I'm very frustrated about being an eight-year old girl at the moment. So naturally, I want to accelerate my combat capabilities as quickly as possible. That doesn't mean I'll be facing off against trained Marines any time soon if I can help it but there are still things I can do to stack the deck. So I've been running. Running, running, running. Running so much Usopp-kun's cowardice would be jealous. If enemies can't hit me they can't beat me, after all, and I can see some use in being quick to avoid the worst of Ohara's coming storm. I've also began doing pushups, crunches, and squats when I'm not utterly exhausted by my side project.

Or as I like to call it, The Escape Plan. Which truthfully, is currently planned to just be two large wooden rafts with a crude canopy of large leaves, and two pairs of (very) ugly paddles. Oh how I wish I'd payed more attention to Franky's 'SUPPPPEEEEEER' expositions about the Sunny's features and design. It doesn't help that I don't have any tools needed to do any form of woodworking. Even with a thousand arms at my disposal, I'm unable to do much more than throw together my form of escape for Saul, the historians, and I. Ah, yes. The second nasty realization. There's no way I can possibly save everybody.

Ever since Enies Lobby, I've never accepted an idea as impossible. That's what the Straw Hats taught me. So long as I have the determination and inner strength, things always work out. And to date, I've never seen it fail. Luffy and the rest of the crew have continued to do the impossible, and I've embraced their philosophy completely. Always happy to go along for the latest crazy and ambitious plan of our Captain. Even Luffy's loss of Ace in Marineford wasn't his fault, not that I'll ever breathe a word of these treasonous thoughts to him. It was his brother's fault for letting himself be provoked by Akainu, wasting the sacrifice of so many others that died that day. Again. Not something to ever be shared out loud.

It all came down to Luffy. Half her day had been spent thinking about the possibilities if Luffy, or some of the other Straw Hats had been sent along with her to this odd replay of time, and what they could do to save Ohara. How they _would_ have saved Ohara, without any doubt. But…I'm alone. And there wasn't much of anything I could do other than cushion the damage.

I really didn't want to think about who'd make it aboard her rafts and who wouldn't. Or how much I value the knowledge in the tree versus the life of the villagers.

 **Day 10:**

The crushing exhaustion from my exercise regime plus the labor needed to create escape rafts has lessened…sort of. My mind isn't a hazy, exhausted hell anymore at least. I'm more or less living on the outskirts of town at the moment; I don't trust my aunt as far as I can throw her, and that isn't very far at the moment. I've been sleeping by (not on!) the beach ever since that first day and catching fish for my meals to avoid having to interact with anybody from the village. The one exception is the other historians, who I make a point of visiting regularly. I've tried hinting at Clover that I know way more than I should but he refuses to take me seriously….this would be much easier if I could get the other historians to help me.

 **Day 14:**

In between the crushing exhaustion and failed attempts to get adults to take me seriously, I've been thinking a lot about my crew and how much I miss them and our adventures. I swear I'll unite us again in this life, even if it's the last thing I do. The first raft is complete. And I've also got an idea about how I can persuade Clover…we'll see if it works. It's very last minute. I'd much rather convince him early if I can.

 **Day 16:**

Ugh.

A part of me really, really does not want to admit it. But this diary is the closest thing to regular, normal human contact that I've got, and also the only place I can discuss what I know. And it's not as if there's anything all that incriminating in here; as far as anybody's concerned this diary i-I meant journal. Journal. This journal is the ramblings of a lunatic. So what harm is there in laying out my thoughts here?

All these days with so little mental stimulation…I keep thinking about my crew. Over and over again. And I'm forced to admit something to myself that I'm wondering if it's even something I realized before, subconsciously or otherwise. But my thoughts keep being drawn back to our Captain. Uncomfortably so. As I've reflected on our times together as a crew, I've…noted how close I am to my Captain, and how much he's changed me from the person I was when I first joined his crew, born out of equal parts cynicism and intrigue by the odd rubber boy.

True, my initial interest in him was amusement. He was such an odd character; a boy unlike any other, unique and unbelievable to all but those he interacts with. When I first joined the crew, I was rather risqué in my approach. It was what I'd done in the past, after all. To draw a man's interest to me, I had to be provocative to stab them in the back later. It was all I knew back then. I showed up in my then sexy cowboy suit ( I don't even want to think back on it…what was I thinking?) and told Luffy to take responsibility for me. I got what I wanted, but not because of my outfit or my words. Luffy instead looked me in the eyes, straight into my soul, judged my character then and there, and only then did he let me join the crew, immediately declaring me to be a good person.

I was floored.

My experiences with Luffy's eccentricities didn't end there. I never felt the need to 'act' like walking sex appeal ever again, which I'm eternally grateful for. From that day onwards, I dressed for me and what made me feel happy, and a semblance of that shy girl from Ohara came out again for the first time in nearly twenty years. Luffy and the rest of the crew wormed their way into my heart through their eccentricities and closeness. I'd never been a part of something so wonderful in my life.

Then came Aokiji, followed shortly by Enies Lobby and I made one of the, frankly, stupidest choices in my life when I ran away from the Straw Hats, attempting to martyr myself from them. On reflection, I really don't know what I was thinking. Luffy and Zoro already had bounties. Luffy wanted to be the Pirate King. An Enies Lobby-style incident that lands most of the crew on the map was merely a matter of time. I suppose that a part of me saw it as atonement for my many sins before I joined the Straw Hats. At the time, I felt like the happiness I'd felt with them had finally outweighed the misery of my youth and that my death was an acceptable outcome.

To Luffy, it was not. What proceeded to happen that day in Enies Lobby can still bring unshed wetness to my eyes. Luffy's speech. Him filling me with the will to live. My declaration. Their determination to save me in face of all the odds against them. At that moment, I'd never felt so loved in my life.

After that incident I was…nervous around the Captain for a while. He didn't change his behavior or interactions with me at all. But as much as I'm uncomfortable now to admit it, Monkey D. Luffy had ignited a small flame in my heart for him through his actions and words, which I then promptly buried and did my best to forget about. I was almost 11 years his senior. I'm closer to being his mother in age than I am an eligible woman for his affection. I told myself this over and over again, failing to realize that I was falling into the same trap of martyrdom that I'd fallen into at Water 7, willing to bury my affection for him in the name of his happiness. It didn't help that as far as I could tell, Luffy bordered on asexuality. If it weren't for Nami recounting the story of the Alabasta baths to me, I'd still be convinced otherwise.

As for my feelings…I succeeded, to a degree. Our interactions became as they always were and by the time we arrived at Thriller Bark, all was normal both in my head and my heart. Except for a few things that managed to slip as time went on. How whenever I pictured the unbreakable bonds Saul talked about, Luffy was the first to come to mind. How I'm always laughing at his antics, or always go along with any idea of his no matter how suicidal the old me would have found it. How defeated I felt in Tequila Wolf, when I wasn't able to reach Luffy before Kuma split us up. How saddened I was to hear about Luffy's defeat at Marineford, beyond any degree of sympathy one would feel for a friend's loss. How I adopted the nicknames Luffy uses for other people as my own. Or the slight twinge of relief I felt at knowing that I was no longer the eldest woman interested in Luffy's heart, upon hearing about Boa Hancock's affection for him, or that I'd inadvertently placed myself yet again as a contender, if only in my heart. How content I am whenever he's near. Or how all my efforts during the 2 years apart were for him first of all.

Or more conclusively; I was forced to admit that I was smitten with the b-no, man, for he was no longer a boy. Luffy had certainly grown up since the last time I'd seen him 2 years earlier. He was still the same man that had accidentally stolen my heart, but it was clear from both his physique and his attitude that he was through taking his adventure so lightheartedly to the point of gambling their lives blindly. I had the utmost confidence in his abilities and in his reasoning, however shortsighted or even idiotic they may appear to some. I'm well aware that Luffy is the textbook definition of a savant, which as far as I was concerned was no flaw but only served to highlight what made Luffy so beloved by me.

Ugh.

I had no idea what to think. As much as I tried to ignore the matter, arguing that it was irrelevant for at a minimum, 19 years, or that it was amoral to even be thinking such thoughts about someone not even born yet…I simply couldn't stop my mind from wandering back to these thoughts without any form of distraction or stimuli beyond physical exhaustion.

My default response to these thoughts was to argue about the age gap. When that failed due to the treasonous segment of my mind bringing up Boa Hancock's age, I tried to argue that Luffy was borderline asexual, which my mind brushed aside completely stating that Luffy couldn't be expected to know what he had never had reason to know and that life experience would change this, as it had over the time they'd been sailing, slowly but surely. Next I tried to argue mentally that Luffy would be far better off with someone that wasn't as tainted by cruel deeds or a harsh past. At this point, I truly began to question my sanity when a voice in my head that sounded and talked exactly like Luffy argued that that point was stupid, as though that solved that matter completely. Inner Luffy then argued (poorly) that she was no further behind than anybody else when no one had truly made any progress in earning Luffy's affection. And when in desperation I tried to argue that my feelings for Luffy were sisterly in nature, Inner Luffy and Inner Robin both snorted. I was forced to sigh in defeat and admit that yes…I had some feelings for my Captain.

I'm clearly losing my mind and if Chopper doesn't come soon, my head will be as hollow as Brook's by the time this disease kills me. If it continues on like this, maybe it's best that it kills me.

Addendum: The great turning point, looking back on it. I wonder if I read this section to Luffy now, what he would say…?

 **Day 18:**

The…overwhelming thoughts on Luffy have seemingly stopped. Or rather, they're there, but now that I'm not actively attempting to deny and suppress them, I've stopped hearing voices in my head arguing against myself. I suppose that now that I'm not internally at war with myself, my mind is now able to focus on other things. Like how much I miss Sanji's cooking. Or how sick I am of fried fish. How much I miss a proper bed instead of a poorly assembled bed of leaves. Or what I've got to do to change Ohara's fate, if only slightly.

My mind does occasionally wander back to what exactly I'm going to do about these newly accepted feelings. But I'm thankfully not engaged in a war of attrition with myself anymore. I suppose that I'll figure things out as they come…it's what Luffy would do, no?

 **Day 26:**

Both rafts are finished, and I am oh so glad to be finally finished. I'm also a lot faster than I was at this age, but I'm unsure just how fast I can run compared to myself as an adult. Nothing to do but to keep training…Saul arrives in two days!

 **Day 27:**

I told Clover that tomorrow, a giant would arrive at Ohara. He was exasperated at my insistence over the last month, but what choice did I have? He told me that if it were true, then he'd finally begin to take me seriously. I physically struggled not to grin like a shark. Hook, line, and sinker.

 **Day 28:**

What a long day. But I couldn't be happier…

* * *

Robin opened her eyes slowly, before jumping up in anticipation and excitement. Today was the day! Saul would finally arrive today! This was the first day she'd get a chance to change everything for the better! Her heart beat faster as she looked around and…..yes! Only a few hundred feet away was a visible lump on the beach, massive in stature. Robin was so happy that a tear or two leaked from her eyes. Saul would not die. Not this time.

Slowly, she approached him as he slowly began to twitch and lift himself off of the sand and Saul did the same funny face that he did last time he first saw her, making Robin giggle to herself.

"W-water…" asked Saul exhaustedly, to which Robin nodded silently and lead him to a nearby stream. As she watched him seemingly come alive again, she couldn't help but have tears gather in her eyes.

"S-Saul…I'm so glad you're here…dereshishi…..de…reshi…..shi…*sniff* WAHHHHHHH!" cried Robin as she rushed his ankle and hugged him tightly, unable to control the tears or salvage her original plan, as she was overcome by just how much she'd missed the friendly giant. Just how deeply his philosophy on life had impacted her. And how his words had given her the hope she needed to carry on until she met Luffy and the others.

"You s-wha? Do I know you?" asked Saul in confusion as he gently patted her back awkwardly in an attempt to comfort the inconsolable little girl.

He was surprised by the radiant smile she gave him through her teary eyes.

"More than you'd think!"

* * *

Convincing Saul actually took surprisingly little time when I told him about recent events only he'd have known. I was amazed at how well my plan was working despite having botched the initial plan that most certainly did not involve me actually telling him that I had some knowledge of the future. It seems like Luffy's strategy of simply hoping for the best is infectious. At first he thought I was a child agent of CP9. Maybe it was the anger on my face when he said that name that caused him to doubt that idea. He asked me for further proof, which I was more than happy to give as I told him the story of how we first met and how he was my first friend. I then told him more, specifically, what was going to arrive in four days and from that moment on, he took me seriously.

He began to almost immediately work on a raft before I told him that it was already done. He was ready to leave, assuming that the Buster Call was being called on him before I managed to slow him down and get him to listen; that the Buster Call would arrive either way, and that it wasn't targeting him but rather my mother. Saul's eyes widened as he put two and two together, before sitting down and listening to my plan in full. By the end…

* * *

"Dereshishishishi! Robin! That's perfect!" exclaimed the giant, amazed at the gift of fortune that had fallen onto his ankle. Robin beamed at the praise, happy that her plan now had two conspirators.

"I'll be right back! I'll bring Clover! Then we can get started! Remember, tell him what I told you!" shouted Robin as she sprinted back inland towards the Tree. Saul nodded, content as he tried to process all that his new…or should he say old? Eh, she was a new friend to him. All that his new friend had told him and done. He wasn't happy to have landed in Ohara of all places, but if he was going to be a fugitive, Robin's plan was the best he could have hoped for.

 _Some Time Later_

"Professor Clover! It's time! Come on, follow me, remember you promised!" shouted Robin with far more excitement than she was used to showing. Darn a childlike brain, even if she was a grown woman mentally. But, how could she not be?

Clover sighed slightly, but nodded. Robin had promised that if she was wrong, she'd stop interrupting him with her cryptic warnings. He knew he shouldn't have introduced her to mystery novels, but alas, it was too late. Robin spent most of the previous year devouring those novels, and she _was_ a child. It shouldn't be a surprise that she'd act her age for once.

Walking down the trail that led to the beach as Robin ran ahead impatiently, he was shocked to see that yes, Robin had been telling the truth. Yup. That was a giant, alright. Clover suddenly got very nervous but Robin confidently ran at the giant. Swallowing, he sped up a little to intervene should it come to it.

"You are Clover?" asked the giant wearily? Clover nodded, his tongue seemingly trapped in his throat.

"Dereshishishishi! Excellent! Then Robin is truly telling the truth!" exclaimed Saul. At his questioning look, Saul recounted an abridged version of what Robin had told him. Thanks to his claim of being a vice admiral, Clover digested his claims about the Buster Call and Nico Olvia with relative ease; after all, there was no way he'd known of Olvia unless he was with the Marines. And from what he was telling him….they had much to worry about the Marines.

Clover sighed deeply, knowing that there was no way to save all the knowledge in the Tree. Even if the islanders escaped the Marines' wrath, there was no possible way of saving the books. Or how to save Olvia…even now, he still felt guilt, knowing that it was the mission he'd launched that had led to the death of his comrades and the full force of the Marines threatening to crash down on the one survivor.

"I have a plan, Clover. If it all goes well, we'll be able to save most of the knowledge in the tree AND save Olvia!" At Clover's curious glance, Saul grinned.

"How does taking over a Marine base sound to you?"

Clover gaped, eyes popping out of his head.

* * *

 **Day 29:**

My plan went even better than I could have anticipated. It was actually quite simple. The archaeologists, Saul, and I would board the rafts and set sail towards the closest Marine base, thankfully only a day away. It was a rather small refueling outpost to the west of the island, as the West Blue was a relatively peaceful place. I had later learned that in the past, the Marine Base by Ohara had been placed specifically to keep an eye on the historians of the island; it was no secret that the Marines watched us all carefully. Meanwhile, the Buster Call would depart from Marineford two days from the day Saul arrived, and reach Ohara on the 32nd day since my bizarre trip to the past from the Southeast.

Upon hearing word that the Marine base was being assaulted, the Buster Call would be forced to divert itself to aid the Marine base. If their mission was so stringent that they could afford to stop, well, it became even simpler. I would use my Hana Hana no Mi powers and a wig to pose as my mother, Nico Olvia. The Marines on the base would report that they'd spotted my mother, and then their primary mission would then be pointing a bullseye right on the Marine base.

The Buster Call would then sail straight past Ohara in an attempt to capture my mother. In the meantime, our raid would focus on three objectives; the destruction or capture of all communication equipment on the base, the capture of one frigate, and the damaging or destruction of all other Marine ships that could pursue. My primary mission would be the first, as I was more than practiced in stealth and infiltration. The historians would focus on capturing a ship. And Saul would focus on incapacitating all of the other ships. Our plan was completely dependent on the base being manned by at most a Commodore, as Saul was in no condition to face a Vice Admiral despite being one himself.

Clover and I split up, with Clover calling an impromptu meeting of the archaeologists and explaining what was coming. None of the archaeologists were surprised by the World Government's actions, just by the plan. But the news of the deaths of their comrades at their hands had their blood boiling, and provisions, munitions, and arms were quickly gathered. I had been careful to not mention that Saul was somewhat responsible for their deaths, otherwise the plan would fall apart. Meanwhile, I patched Saul up as best as I could using any and all medical supplies I could get my hands on for his massive frame.

We set sail late that night on the rafts I'd built, reinforced by what meager building materials we had, but with a full set of (crummy) oars and a proper mast and sail. Rather than waste time on any potential arguments against me going or not, I hid under Saul's shirt on his shoulder as the archaeologists and the giant took shifts rowing to speed our process.

Our timing was impeccable, as we arrived ahead of schedule, just as the sun was setting behind our backs. Saul got off the raft and began swimming in an attempt to keep us disguised for as long as possible. We got incredibly close thanks to the cover the sun provided before they even noticed our presence, but the only thing they saw was the archaeologists wildly waving white flags and crying for help. I'd been sitting on Saul's head but he sneakily transferred me aboard, to the surprise of all of the archaeologists but it was too late to say anything. Saul's hair being orange did an excellent job of camouflaging his presence as he took a deep breath and went underwater. If I remember right, giants can hold their breaths for approximately ten minutes on average. The Marines opened the gate to their dockyard and our vessels slowly paddled in.

We were greeted by a Junior Lieutenant, and I could hardly believe my luck. It appears that Gol D. Roger really was applying pressure on the Marines, as the base had a skeleton crew to greet us and it was clear that many of the Marine ships rarely went out on patrol from how clean they were. Clover quickly got to fabricating a tale about a vicious giant assaulting their village which got the attention of the Marines. As they turned to lead us into the base for further questioning, we struck.

Saul jumped out of the water, pummeling the Junior Lieutenant as he did so and sending him into the wall, unconscious or possibly even dead. The historians pulled out revolvers, knives, and even a crossbow as they unleashed their first barrage on the Marines whose backs were for the most part, still turned. Saul quickly knocked out all other Marines on the docks as the historians charged the barracks, where the majority of the Marines on base were located and set up a barricade in front from which they let loose their ranged weapons, locking down most of the Marine's manpower.

I had jumped into the shadows in the chaos and was making my way towards the command center. I found to my pleasant surprise that I had the strength to incapacitate and clutch trained Marines, and made liberal use of it instead of a slower full stealth approach. As I neared, I slowed down and hid in an alcove while a few stragglers ran past, focusing all of my efforts into what I was about to do. Slowly, I created my feet on the cold stone surface and my face scrunched up in concentration. I created a segment of my ankle…then created the same segment again on top of my ankle. Then I moved on to the calf. Slowly but surely, a rough mirror of what I had looked like as an adult appeared before me. It wasn't perfect, a few proportions were off, but it could easily pass as an adult version of me if nobody looked too hard. I'd handed my clone a dress that I'd snatched on the way to my rafts as well as the white wig I'd thrown together in anticipation of this day.

At the time, I realized with a jolt how well I mirrored my mother as an adult. Change the hair color and we were basically twins.

My clone smiled softly and nodded as she boldly stepped into the command center. I had smiled and sat in my corner, concentrating.

* * *

 _Inside the Command Center_

"W-Who are you?!" exclaimed the terrified Marine manning the comm station as he turned around, hearing the door swing open. My clone smiled demurely as she stepped forward, not saying anything. I could roughly imitate the body of an adult me if I put all of my concertation into it, but vocal chords were another matter entirely. My clone's eyes lit up in amusement as the Marine's hand inched towards the dagger on his belt before eyeing something rather convenient; a freshly printed wanted poster of my mother sitting right by the comm console.

My clone smiled again before pointing at the poster. The Marine's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he dove for the Comm Console Den Den Mushi.

"MARINE HQ, THIS IS THE OHARA-MABAI BASE, WEST BLUE! NICO OLVIA AND JAGUAR D. SAUL HAVE ATTACKED AND CONQUERED THE BASE, I REPEAT, OHARA-MABAI BASE HAS FALLEN TO NICO OLVIA AND JAGUAR D. SAUL! PLEASE SEND IMMEDIATE REINFORCEMENTS!"

Satisfied, her clone crossed her arms and the Marine was completely incapacitated by arms sprouting from his back. The clone slowly dissipated into flower petals as a voice cried out from outside, "MIL FLEUR! GIGANTESCO MANO!"

Saul looked up as a giant fist smashed the entirety of the top floor of the Marine Base and several Den Den Mushi came flying out. All but two landed in the water; one landed right on his nose, while the other landed dab center in the middle of the ship he had claimed for themselves. Saul grinned; Robin was truly the best thing he could have wished for in this crazy, crazy scenario. Moments later, he was gaping as Robin came out of the top floor, flying on what looked like angel wings that on closer inspection were made of her arms. How did such a thing even work…?!

* * *

The getaway was equally as successful as our entry. Saul dumped part of the wreckage of a Marine ship he'd ruined in front of the barracks entrance and wedged the debris in deep into the passageway, successfully ensuring that the Marines would be stuck there for a very long time. All but one ship had been destroyed by Saul, and the historians cheered as they boarded it alongside Saul and I. Saul quickly began barking out orders that were more or less successfully followed by the determined historians, and away we went in the dead of the night. Everybody cheered, as the worst wounds received had been a few grazing bullets but nothing critical. It also helped that there were multiple historians whose specialty was medicine. I couldn't do anything but just smile in happiness at how well this crazy plan was going. The Historian-Giant Alliance was going off without a hitch!

 **Day 30:**

We arrived late in the afternoon to the complete confusion of most of the villagers. Clover and Saul gave some speeches that managed to shock and horrify most of the populace of the island. Some refused to believe it. Many others, especially those related to the historians of the island, took the warnings much more seriously. What then began as a warning quickly turned into an exodus as many of the residents of the island took whatever boats were available to them and promptly began to flee. Fishing boats, row boats, canoes, all were drafted into transporting as many people off the island as possible. Meanwhile, Saul, most of the historians and I began to empty out the Tree of Knowledge of every book and manuscript we could manage to the point where half the cargo weight of the Marine frigate was books. What couldn't fit into the frigate was freely given to the villagers to take with them, resulting in approximately 70% of all of the books on the island escaping destruction. The exodus of people and books put peer pressure on those who at first refused to leave, and soon all but the most brainwashed of individuals had left the island save for a few of the more dedicated historians, Saul, and I. We began to clear out as much of the islands' food supplies as we could and load them into the ship without sinking or capsizing it, knowing it would be a long journey. Abandoned homes proved plentiful in providing for us all, and soon we were ready for the next day.

 **Day 31:**

Today, my mother arrived. I….I truthfully don't know how I feel about it. A part of me is still bitter at being all but abandoned by her. Another understands why she did what she did. Most of me just wanted to hug her, which is exactly what I did once she washed up on the beach. Her arrival was far quieter than it originally was, as we saw no sign of Marine ships but our own. After a very quick conversation with Saul and Clover, my mother boarded our ship and we began to sail straight north at maximum speed towards the Calm Belt. If geography hadn't been on our side, we'd have likely been caught in Paradise but the West Blue was on the New World side of the Grand Line. And what's more, we were sailing directly at an island under Whitebeard's protection. We had a chance. Assuming the Sea Kings didn't devour us first, however. Saul letting it slip that Marine ship bottoms were coated in Seastone was going to save all of our lives.

Crossing the Calm Belt was terrifying, even with the knowledge that we were as safe as we could possibly be from the Sea Kings. With the wind dead, they were forced to bring out Seastone-coated oars and row for their lives. They spent the better part of a day and a half constantly rowing before we spotted the first sign of trouble from behind…a Sea King had finally spotted us and had risen out of the water. The gargantuan monster was a blue spotted, reptilian-looking sea snake with teeth that were easily several times the size of the ship. We were all too horrified to panic. As the Sea King reared back, presumably to devour us, its body began to freeze from its head downwards.

* * *

' _Oh no'_ , thought Robin in horror as she realized the monster that had arrived to replace the previous one. The Sea King let loose a massive roar before diving back into the water, causing the tiny figure on its head to land on the now-frozen water. The ice slowly began to expand, creeping towards their ship slowly.

Aokiji stared lazily at the stolen Marine ship and the horrified looks on the faces of its temporary crew. Robin was too afraid to move, knowing that there was no chance that she could stop him.

"EVERYBODY KEEP ROWING!" roared Saul as he stepped forward to the bow, looking down at his erstwhile friend. The historians snapped back to life and began to furiously row, just barely outpacing the freezing speed of the ice as it continued to creep towards them. Aokiji stood there, watching indifferently.

"Arara Saul, you've led us on quite the crazy chase. Won't you please surrender?" asked Aokiji.

"Kuzan! Let these people go! They've hurt nobody and won't harm anybody! They're just historians!" exclaimed Saul tensely. He was good, and able to give Kuzan a good spar on his best day, but that was with minimal usage of his fruit. If forced to fight him at his full power why he was still injured…the results would not be good. But what could he do? Stall? For what?

"Gomen Saul, but I have my orders. The historians of Ohara have researched the Poneglyphs extensively. Too extensively. They pose a danger to the world, and I'm here to end that."

Aokiji, or Kuzan as his proper given name, was for once not looking particularly lazy or unfocused as he said this. He was sizing up Saul, his eyes lingering on his injuries from escaping the Marines five days prior.

Saul grit his teeth in frustration. There wasn't much he could do, but he would do his best. For Robin, Olvia, and the rest of the historians. They'd come too far to give up now.

The ice began to encroach faster on the ship, outspeeding it completely as the ship was stuck, surrounded completely. The tension between Kuzan and Saul was palpable and quickly rising until...

BOOM

Everybody but Kuzan and Saul fell over as the ship trembled and the ice shattered, hail falling all over them as the broken ice flew skywards from the force of the quake. As the crew cried out in fear and ducked, Saul and Kuzan were both looking around in confusion, Saul on the wildly shaking ship and Kuzan on a floating piece of ice that resembled a glacier. Kuzan's eyes widened in realization as a deep laughter rang out over the shattered ice sheet.

"Gurarararara…aren't you too green to be sent out to face me, Vice Admiral Kuzan?" rumbled Whitebeard as he landed surprisingly gently for a man his size aboard the stolen Marine ship. From above, a teenage Marco's phoenix flame wings flashed back to arms as he landed next to his father, eyeing Kuzan wearily.

"Arara Whitebeard, it seems like we're throwing a party. I forgot to invite some more friends," said Kuzan neutrally as all tension disappeared. He was good, but he wasn't Whitebeard good, not by any stretch of the imagination and they all knew it.

"That's alright! We've got all the booze you can drink!" exclaimed Robin as she stood up, eyeing both men nervously.

Both men stared at each other, then at Robin, then back at each other in confusion before Whitebeard bellowed another deep laugh that seemed to shake the entire ship.

"Gurarararara! You know how it's done, girl! It's time for a party!" exclaimed the massive man as he sat down heavily, shaking the ship. Kuzan blinked once, twice, before shrugging. He already knew what'd happen if he tried anything. As far as Marine HQ could be concerned, he lost to Whitebeard. No one was gonna give him shit for that one.

"Oi, Nico-mini, pour one out for me. I'm going to be very, very drunk so that when I'm forced to call in and give a report, I sound really, really delirious" said Kuzan lazily as he jumped aboard the ship (scattering everybody nearby but Saul and Whitebeard in fear) and lazily laying back on the ground as though he hadn't been about to murder them all via deep freezing.

"Deroshishishishi! I knew you'd come around Kuzan!"

* * *

I can say without a doubt that that party was the scariest, most awkward, and bizarre party I've ever attended in my entire life.

On the one hand we had Kuzan, terror of my childhood, casually drinking and laughing alongside Marco the Phoenix and Saul as though they were old drinking buddies, drunkenly singing and roaring with laughter.

On the other hand we have Whitebeard, strongest man in the world, getting absolutely plastered alongside the historians of Ohara, who after the first hour of terror, had eased into drinking after it was clear that Whitebeard's presence meant a truce, and that getting on his good side was critical. Clover in particular seemed to have hit it off amazingly well with Whitebeard as the two old men laughed to the point of falling over and spilling beer all over themselves.

I sat off to the side with my mother after having finished bringing out the alcohol. The entire stock I'd brought along with us to convince Whitebeard to parley with us, all gone in a few short hours.

* * *

Robin stared in horror mixed with nostalgia as Clover danced around with chopsticks in his nose to the roaring laughter of the entire ship. Seeing Aokiji and Saul rolling on the floor laughing was just…what had happened to the past? Was it always full of this much potential for insanity? This is what could have happened instead? Really? Or was this some sort of alternate universe?

Olvia stared with a very similar facial expression in her face as she slowly grasped her child's hand, as though trying to physically reassure herself that she hadn't gone mad. Robin smiled at the gesture, focusing her attention on her mother instead of- _oh god is Whitebeard really about t-oh my lord, he actually did it._ With sheer force of will, Robin turned her head back to facing her mother.

Olvia glanced at what had caught Robin's attention and burst out laughing before she stopped, smiling gently down at her daughter. Internally, she was cringing at the awkwardness but resolved to follow through.

"So uh…you throw interesting parties, Robin-chan. Are all your friends this wild?" asked Olvia?

"Yes," said Robin with absolute seriousness. This was Straw Hat Party 101 material after all.

Olvia just stared at her daughter in surprise before she giggled, mentally said to hell with it, and scooped her up in a hug.

"I'm so sorry Robin…oh so sorry. It had to be done, but I regretted leaving you behind every day I was gone," said Olvia as her eyes slowly began to glisten with unshed tears. Robin's shock at the sudden hug quickly faded as she too, wrapped her mother in a strong hug, cherishing it as she finally relaxed the knot of tension that had been sitting in her gut for the last month.

"It's okay. I'm just happy we have a second chance."


	2. Chapter 2

**Robin's Diary**

 **Chapter 2: Decisions**

After the raging party I'd managed to start had ended, Aokiji had more or less disappeared by the morning after although nobody was sure exactly when or how he'd left. After Whitebeard's hangover had passed, he and Clover sat down to negotiate. Well, negotiate is a strong term. It's more that Whitebeard recalled what Clover had drunkenly told him the previous night and had already agreed to let the historians settle in Foodvalten under his protection. The historians cheered at the news that they'd succeeded in their dangerous journey, while I had been lost in thought.

True, the pressure of Ohara's demise was off my shoulders. But now what? Did I go and live with my mother, living the childhood I always wanted? Did I go out and do another crazy stunt like try and save Gol D. Roger from execution? Go into hiding so that none could use my knowledge to alter the future? Spare my friends their near universally poor childhoods? There were so many options, and I truly felt myself at an impasse. Did this make me a Whitebeard Pirate? That idea immediately struck with me as something to be rejected; the only Pirate crew she would formally join would be the Straw Hats.

* * *

"Gomen…" I said as I walked up to Whitebeard and pulled on his pants, confident that such a man of integrity that even Luffy respected wouldn't hurt me.

"Yeah Nico-mini? What can I do for you?" asked Whitebeard casually as he watched the historians of Ohara celebrate, hangover be damned with a sparkle in his eye.

"I'm not gonna be a Whitebeard Pirate," said Robin definitively. "It's not happening."

The Oharans all stared at her in shock at the insolence she'd just displayed towards their savior when Whitebeard burst out laughing at her precociousness.

"Don't worry little Oharan, I don't recruit children and you don't seem tough enough anyways! Gurararara!" Marco and Saul both smiled at her, taking any possible sting out of Whitebeard's words.

Robin stuck out her tongue at them all.

"Good, because I'll only ever have one Captain."

* * *

I don't know what courageous bone sprouted in my body at that moment, or when I became so…Luffy-like. All I know is that I did it and my mother has promised that she'll find it adorable for the rest of her life. Perhaps I should avoid having my crew and my mother meet, ne…?

The next few days were spent sailing leisurely with Whitebeard. The reason he'd arrived at just the right time was because the Moby Dick had been anchored off of Puman, the island we'd originally been heading to, when he heard the roar of the Sea King that had been about to attack us from the vibrations in the water. The funfact of the day was that the Gura Gura no Mi gives the user an affinity for vibrations no matter how faint they are. The only time their roars are ever heard is when someone's sailing in from the Calm Belt, which is why he and Marco went to investigate.

I spent those days for the most part, relaxing and getting to know my mother for the first time in two lifetimes. I also played with Saul and occasionally Marco who were both determined to 'make a normal little girl' out of me. I thought it was funny more than it was annoying, and I hadn't had the chance to unwind like this…ever. Even when having fun with the others, I always held myself back from fully engaging in the silliness. Maybe it helped a bit that even though I was mentally a grown woman, I couldn't escape that I was physically an 8-year old girl. Even Whitebeard himself got in on the shenanigans when he saw the silliness the other two grown men were engaging in to bring a little girl out of her shell. It really was just like the Thousand Sunny all over again.

In between the moments of fun and camaraderie were reflections on what to do next. I was forced to write off any ideas I'd had of recreating the crew and our adventures exactly as they were with slight alterations like stopping Kuma's separation because of how…implausible they'd become. It was insanity to think that the crew would come together and that everything would happen exactly as it happened unless I'm ready to accept responsibility for enabling the worst of my friends' childhoods and allowing terrible events to befall others in the name of maintain the sanctity of the timeline as I knew it. I'm not prepared to do any of that, and any illusions I had of making everything go the same as before died the moment I decided that I'd do everything I could to save Ohara's people.

For one, I was no longer the same Nico Robin that Luffy was more or less forced to recruit. And I wouldn't be, even if I went through every miserable moment I went through originally in the other timeline (at some point, I embraced acknowledging this world as an alternate timeline. I think it began the moment I saw Whitebeard dancing around with chopsticks up his nose. That couldn't have happened in my timeline….right?). Precisely because I already knew what awaited me at the end. Why follow the path when you can explore the possibilities? Truly, Luffy's outlook on life is contagious.

So, first thing is first. Just before we disembarked on Foodvalten, I told Saul to warn Whitebeard and Marco to beware about a man named Teach. Both looked at him funny when he did, but shrugged and accepted the warning with relative grace. Neither of them knew a Teach yet. Ideally, neither Luffy nor Ace ever will either.

Settling into Foodvalten was relatively easy as the island was a net exporter of foodstuffs, so the added pressure of additional mouths to feed did little to dampen our new neighbor's enthusiasm towards us. My mother and I settled in a small cabin surrounded by terrace farms that Saul helped us build. Saul himself created a (relatively) small home nearby ours and became a common houseguest of ours. Our next closest neighbor was a friendly old man by the name of Choma, but I rarely saw him. In that time, I continued to think on what exactly I wanted to change, or to what degree I could control the changes I made to ensure that things went as I wanted them to.

All of my plans however, easily died with my mother who was determined to raise me as a loving parent would have any eight year old. A part of me loved it, because it was always what I wanted to have. Another part of me _really_ wanted to be treated as an adult again and couldn't wait to grow up. After a few weeks of 8-year old bliss and spending quality time with my mother, I was ready to take the first bold step in changing the future. It was time to tell my mother I was from an alternate dimension. It went about as smoothly as it sounds on paper.

* * *

"Yes sweetie. You're from an alternate dimension. And I'm Gold Roger's mistress," said Olvia with a disbelieving laugh as Robin (unintentionally) began to pout. Thankfully, she had brought backup.

"I know it sounds crazy Olvia, but Robin really does know things she shouldn't. How do you explain how she knew what happened when I was a Marine?"

Olvia grew tight-lipped at this. Yes, she owed Saul a lot. Yes, she was his friend. But a part of her had never forgiven Saul for letting her fellow historians die. It was a rough topic for them to talk about.

"While I'll give you that, it doesn't conclusively mean that she's from an alternate universe," said Olvia, disbelief obvious in her voice.

Robin had to physically stop herself from voicing out all her other theories of what _this_ was. Her mother currently thought she was being funny, she didn't want her thinking she's mad.

"What do I have to say to prove I'm from an alternate timeline?" asked Robin, figuring that this would be a more efficient way of getting her point across.

Olvia grinned at her daughter from across the table. "How about this. Tell me the day Gold Roger will die. And on that day, if you told me right I'll believe you."

Robin was just about ready to huff about her mother not taking her seriously when she stopped to think. And realized that date was a lot closer than she'd thought. Gol D. Roger was due to be captured by the Marines in about three days. It took all of her willpower to not start smiling.

"I bet you Roger gets captured in three days, and dies two weeks after that!" exclaimed Robin with a smile that clearly communicated that she knew something her mom didn't. Olvia just smiled with mild exasperation.

"Deal."

* * *

Needless to say, I won, and my mother started taking me a bit more seriously after that. Just a bit, mind you. She was still determined to treat me like Mommy's Little Princess for as long as she could. I can see where I got my penchant for penance from.

It was about six months into living at Foodvalten that I had a rough draft of my plans after much brainstorming and struggling to remember all I could about my friend's pasts. They were as follows.

* * *

 **The Three Tenets**

Reassemble at least the original Straw Hat crew no matter the consequences

Improve the childhoods of my nakama without directly invalidating what made them who they are

Cripple the plans and ambitions of the antagonists we faced when possible

Priority to the tenets were given from top to bottom.

* * *

My plans were derived using the above three tenets as the pillars to justify actions I planned to take. My preliminary plans for my crewmembers are as follows, based on what she knew of her nakama's childhoods:

* * *

 **Luffy:**

-Avoid the Sabo incident, if at all possible

-Failing that, ensure that Sabo's amnesia is lifted earlier

-Offer the three wild siblings some education. It's clear Luffy had none and it's unfair to him that he's continuously degraded for his lack of knowledge

 **Nami:**

-Kill Arlong. Ideally, before Bellemere dies

-A major concern is that Nami will be a very different person without her life experience. But if I do nothing and Nami ever learned about my inaction, I'd undeniably earn her hatred. Even if I risk losing my nakama, I must take action for Nami

 **Zoro:**

-Zoro has made vague references to a certain somebody that he's sworn a pact with as a swordsman, and also implying that they are no longer on this world. If I can figure out exactly what he was referring to, avoid that person's death if at all possible

-There is no fixing that man's sense of direction

 **Usopp:**

-Ensure that he does not grow up alone. Visit him at least a few times. Perhaps introduce him to other nakama in the East Blue?

-Train the cowardice out of him early. Maybe force his father to look out for him while they're in the East Blue visiting Luffy, when he first got his hat

 **Sanji:**

-I'm not sure anything can be done for Sanji. Germa 66 is unavoidable, and by the time I know where he is he'll already be working with….Veff? Zeff? From what he's told me, he was happy with 'the old geezer'

 **Chopper:**

-Try to save his father figure, Hiluluk without voiding his apprenticeship to Kureha

-Due to knowing all of nothing about medicine, this means strong-arming him into Kureha's care as I can't cure him myself

-Wapol must die. I cannot tolerate any man who pretends to restrict knowledge from others or hurt my nakama as much as he did, directly and indirectly

-I'm so glad Chopper-kun and I had a lot of conversations in the past, or trying to fix Chopper's childhood would have been impossible

 **Franky:**

-Warn Franky about Spandam's attempts to frame his master, Tom. This should occur when I'm 20, therefore I will

-Warn him in advance several years ahead of time and

-Try to be in Water 7 around the time of the events

-Spandam WILL die, for all the damage he's caused onto others

 **Brook:**

-Brook is alone until approximately five years from our arrival in the Florian Triangle when Gekko Moria steals his shadow. This time, he'll be long gone by then

-The sooner I can save Brook from his solitude, the better

* * *

My laundry list of things to do is very large, but I've also got about 19 years to do it, more or less. The very first thing I should do is go and free Brook from the Florian Triangle. I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to tell him to convince him to join us but…I'll figure it out when the times come. After that it'll be a trip to Water 7 to tip off Franky, and then…? Lots of waiting, most likely. A lot of my nakama's tragedies actually happen at roughly parallel times and I've already got the sinking feeling that I won't be able to do everything at once. At least the World Government won't be actively hunting me anymore.

Which brings me to an important point about the Ohara crisis. Word had spread via the grapevine back to our island that the World Government had more or less abandoned any plans involving the Oharan historians completely, viewing them as a lost cause now that we were under Whitebeard's protection. The villagers had scattered completely throughout the West Blue and even into the other four seas, and were also unlikely to be targeted by the World Government. Brutal they may be, but tracking down all of the Oharan diaspora would mean razing the entirety of the West Blue to the ground. Not even they were mad enough to attempt something so extreme…but I had my doubts at first. As the months went by with no news of disaster, I breathed a bit easier, knowing that if it hadn't happened before it was unlikely to happen now.

I had begun to prepare for my voyage out to the Florian Triangle but I hit…a snag.

* * *

"Young lady, you're 9. I don't care how much you know about the future, you're not going out to that forsaken blight of the ocean," stated Olvia with the absolute finality of a parent putting their foot down. She stood blocking the door with her frame, and looked far more intimidating than Robin had thought possible with the annoyed glare she was sending her.

"I've got a friend to rescue, I don't care what it takes, I'm going," stated Robin flatly, unamused by her mother's latest nurture streak. She was leaning against the wall just outside of their home, a bag packed next to her feet.

"You're 9!" exclaimed Olvia with exasperation, "What are you possibly going to do alone on the Grand Line as a 9-year old? Do you even have a ship?"

Robin chewed on her bottom lip in frustration. As much as she hated to admit it…her mother did have a point. She really doubted the Whitebeard Pirates would be up to lending her a ship and crew…let alone when they'd be back to visit Foodvalten again.

"Dereshishi! Your mother's right Robin-chan! You're too puny to be sailing the scariest stretch of the Grand Line outside of the New World! I'VE never gone there, how do you think you'd fare?" questioned Saul with a chuckle, sitting back on their lawn comfortably.

"Then come with me!" exclaimed Robin in exasperation. "I don't care how, I just care that I get there before Gekko Moriah settles down there!"

By this point in time, both Saul and Olvia knew better than to question Robin's cryptic references to the future, but Saul still looked unconvinced. Olvia on the other hand, had a far more thoughtful look before she offered Robin a grin.

"Alright, fine. But you're waiting until you're at least 14, and both Saul and I are going with you," said Olvia.

"You are?"

"We are?"

"Yep," said Olvia with lazy grin. "This peaceful island life is nice and all, but it's boring to an adventuring archaeologist like me. Helping you out with your crazy visions-"

Robin shot her mother a dirty look, "-will be a whole lot more fun than sitting here until I grow old and die!"

* * *

And so a bit under 5 years passed rather uneventfully. I had to physically stop myself at times from just rushing out down to the docks and taking any ship I could find in order to free Brook. Knowing that he was spending every day on his own in his own personal hell was maddening to my conscience, but I did my best to not think about it, knowing that my mother did have a point. As a child, I was all but useless on the open seas. And I'd do Brook or the others no good if I was dead.

I continued with my workout routines regularly with Saul deciding to act as my coach, as one of his past jobs with the Marines was a recruit trainer. With his guidance, I felt like I'd achieved the endurance I had when I first joined the Straw Hats, and was roughly as strong as I would have been in my late teens.

But the achievement I was proudest of was finally accessing Observation Haki. Saul, being competent in both forms of Haki, had been trying to get me to bring it forth as part of my training under him with little success. But when I was 13…

* * *

"Hyah!" shouted Robin as she jumped over Saul's sweeping finger and began to run up his arm. Saul chuckled as Robin's mouth twisted in a frown. "Saul, that punch was so slow that I could have dodged it when I was 8," complained Robin as she reached his shoulder.

"Gomen Robin, but you know that I can't go any faster. The force would seriously hurt you, dereshishi," chuckled Saul as he jabbed his free arm at the girl on his shoulder, forcing her to jump off rather than get hit and landing in a crouch.

Robin was dressed in what she'd mentally dubbed her 'serious outfit', consisting of a pair of flexible black pants, gladiator sandals, a form-fitting purple tank top, and her hair, still about the same length she'd worn it for most of her life, tied back in a short ponytail to keep it out of her face. She stared down Saul wearily, trying to pick out a new angle of attack.

The giant's post-Marine outfit was rather reminiscent of the damaged clothes he'd worn when he'd first met her; gray slacks, a dark t-shirt, and a cowboy hat. The major difference in his appearance was that he now wore a pair of massive cowboy boots, a red ascot tucked into his shirt, and kept a pair of cowboy gloves hanging off his waist at all times that Robin had never seen him wear.

Part of Saul's training had involved teaching Robin the basics of fighting in close combat, something she'd never really picked up in her previous life besides the basics of wielding a knife. Robin was happy to learn as it'd add more flexibility to her repertoire, should she ever face anybody who she couldn't overpower from a distance; the idea being to use close combat to create more distance between herself and an enemy.

Most of that was focused on training to dodge and maneuver, but Saul had also thrown in how to kick, punch, and break a hold. Rather awkwardly, as when verbal instruction failed he had to corral Olvia as a practice dummy for demonstration purposes, as he was far too large to demonstrate anything but being flattened to the ground under overwhelming force.

To Robin's frustration however, she could barely tell if what she was doing was right as Saul's overwhelming physique meant that he barely felt the 13 year old girl's efforts and they commonly bickered (or as close as Robin could get to bickering) over the effectiveness of their training. Robin didn't really complain about the training itself…more about how frustrating it was to not be able to see the fruits of her labor as nobody on the island was inclined for combat against her. Which is why a common point of minor bickering between the two was Robin attempting to get Saul to take her more seriously.

Said frustration was visible on her face as she charged Saul again, throwing a few swift punches at his ankle before finishing with a roundhouse kick and retreating once more. "Take me seriously!"

Saul just smiled gently before taking in a deep sigh. "Alright, fine. If you're not fast, this is going to hurt Robin-chan."

With that, Saul's entire demeanor changed as his eyes began to track Robin's movements and he started circling her instead of staying in one fixed location. "Feel free to go all out," said Saul seriously, "or this is going to a very short spar."

Robin nodded determinedly as she crossed her arms, causing arms to sprout all over the ground surrounding her like grass, and she was lifted slightly off the ground, standing on her sprouted arms. "Cien Fleur: Hana Hana Floor," called out Robin as she took a stance and prepared to charge Saul down.

But that's not what happened, as with a start, Saul charged her far faster than she'd ever seen him move and was on top of Robin before she could blink. Robin's eyes widened in shock before she gathered her wits and jumped back, the arms she was standing on adding their strength and catapulting her away several meters. Arms sprouted as she was about to land, dampening her fall as the force of the landing was easily dispersed by the small ocean of arms, as they bent to absorb the shock. The arms where she had previously been standing had been dissolved by her just in time, as Saul's fist had formed a small crater where she'd previously been standing. Robin couldn't help but smile, glad that she'd finally get a chance to test herself.

"Let's go!" shouted Robin as a thin path of arms sprung in a path to Saul. Setting herself in a sprinter's stance, Robin pushed off, her arms once more accelerating her as she took long, powerful strides while charging at Saul. As she approached him, she jumped, rocketing to Saul's neck as she cocked her arm back. "Cinquenta Fleur: Punch Web Cannon!"

As Robin punched up at Saul's chin, arms sprouted on her arm, that sprouted on those arms and so on, until a set of 50 arms in a near web-like pattern were flying straight at Saul, all packing the same strength and acceleration of Robin's original punch.

Saul's hand caught her punch with surprising speed for a man his size and held on tightly as his other fist came up in an uppercut straight at her. Robin had already banished her extra appendages, freeing her from Saul's grip, but she was falling straight towards Saul's incoming fist.

Robin focused, and a leg sprouted on the middle of Saul's hand that she grabbed onto and acrobatically did a flip, using that momentum to get out of the way of Saul's punch. Landing once more on her small wave of arms, she raced at Saul once more, this time aiming for the back of his legs.

Circling him, Saul eyed her warily as she charged in, making a jumping kick that connected with the back of his knee, forcing Saul down to one leg. What she'd failed to notice was that Saul used this momentum from falling down to twist his upper body around, bringing a hand forward to catch Robin.

She was still in the air, but had no surfaces from which to form limbs and alter her trajectory. Robin's eyes widened in panic as she wracked her brain for a solution; using her arms to make wings would be too slow in altering her momentum, there were no surfaces to form limbs on in the air, and it looked like there wasn't anything she could do.

But then she felt it, a pulse in the back of her mind. Calling to her to try something she'd never done before as she read Saul's movements, seemingly before they were to occur. Eyes widening, she crossed her arms as an arm sprouted from the ground, then another on top of that, and another on top of that one and so on until a thin pillar of arms had formed a few feet away from her. From the highest wrist, another series of arms formed that stretched out towards her that formed a structure in the shape of a lightpost which she latched on to, stopping her just inches from falling where Saul's hand was prepared to swipe her out of the air.

As Saul's hand swung past underneath her, Robin dispersed the arms, falling onto the ground and landing gently in another small wave of arms. Saul stopped his attacks as he grinned widely, recognizing what Robin had just done. "Now we're making progress!" exclaimed the giant, causing Robin's eyes to widen slightly and a small, happy smile to grace her lips.

* * *

From that day on I was able to reliably access Observation Haki with Saul's tutoring. Saul became less worried about hurting me so long as he didn't use Observation Haki in turn, and soon our spars began to closely resemble the intense battle where I first awakened Observation Haki in this body.

One more year of relative peace passed by before the day finally came to go and rescue Brook from his isolation.

Saul, my mother and I were all ready to go, sitting on the docks as we awaited our boat. Saul and I were dressed in our usual outfits. While we had been living on Foodvalten, my mother had abandoned her trench coat she wore while on the run and wore clothing similar to what I would have worn casually aboard the Sunny; stylish pants, shirts, belts, shoes, hats, etc. But for the purposes of the voyage, it appeared she'd taken on some more practical clothing that I'd never seen her in before. I was rather surprised to see my mother dressed in a pair of light hiking boots and heavy-duty grey cotton pants. From the top up, she wore her usual style of an ornate belt and a blue tank top that exposed some midriff. She had donned her coat once more, and from the shapes I could make out, there were at least three different firearms stashed inside. My mother winked at me, causing me to smile and resume focusing on the horizon.

It took only a few more moments before we spotted our transport. To offer an explanation, I appeared to have become something of a favorite of Whitebeard's for what in his words was, 'the sheer brass and determination on a little girl' and was thus relatively well known among many of the division commanders due to stories of how I had been partially responsible for saving Ohara. As a result, my wish to sail into the Florian Triangle became something of a gag amongst the crew of the Moby Dick until it became apparent how determined I was to do so. Both Marco and Vista had volunteered to take me out to the Triangle, and thus here we were, awaiting our unknown Whitebeard Pirate escort.

When the ship arrived, I was happy to that we'd be sailing with Marco, as he was one of the Whitebeard Pirates I knew best. Along with him were several others I recognized from past knowledge as being members of Whitebeard's crew.

* * *

"Oi!" exclaimed Marco as they neared, "Sit down Robin-chan, before you burst a blood vessel from excitement-yoi!" Robin felt a faint blush of embarrassment at being called out for being excited, but too happy to finally be going after Brook to get flustered by it. Too much, anyways.

"I'm not the one that's overly excited and yelling, Firebutt-kun!" shouted Robin back, to the guffaws of many of the men on board.

"I told you to stop calling me that, baka. And Happy Birthday-yoi," said Marco flatly as their ship pulled in to dock.

* * *

Our voyage to the Florian Triangle took a few weeks but was fairly peaceful, or as peaceful as sailing in first the New World, then later Paradise could be. But the crew was very experienced, and we arrived with little difficulty. What was actually difficult was finding Brook. Due to the shrouded nature of the Florian Triangle, trying to find anything its waters was an exercise in futility that at first, the Whitebeard Pirates found entertaining but that eventually began to become tiresome as they sailed through what they estimated to be the majority of the Triangle with little to show for it but Robin's continued insistence to keep sailing about after two weeks of nothing. Until finally, the day came…

* * *

Robin sat stubbornly by the helm, a rather neutral facial expression on her face but to anybody that knew her well, would be recognized as frustration or annoyance. As she'd gotten older, her more childish habits that she'd picked up started to fall out of favor…albeit slowly. And they did pop back up when she was agitated. But all in all, she was slowly starting to feel like the old Robin, before this crazy alternate world had kicked off.

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho…"_

She sat up in shock, looking around wildly and praying that she hadn't misheard or imagined that echoing song. "Did you hear that?" asked Robin to Saul, who slowly nodded while looking around.

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho…"_

This was it. Standing up to full height, she cupped her hands and sang back, "Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho ho!"

" _Yo ho ho ho, yo ho ho…_ wha? _"_

THERE! The decrepit ship appeared out of the mist, and atop it, alone…Brook, leaning against a wall at a 42 degree angle while trying to look around and find the source before he slipped and fell with a loud "Yohohoho!" of shock.

Robin gestured at one of the crewmates to bring the ship in closer to the older decrepit ship as she crossed her arms, willing a small bridge of arms to appear between the two ships as she rushed across to the other boat.

"Ara? Gomenasai, but may I see you-oh, I'm sorry little miss. You are too young to be showing others your panties," said Brook as he took off his top hat and gestured in a bow. "My name is Brook. What is your name, little miss?"

Robin couldn't keep the smile off her face even as she sat through hearing Brook's perverted traditional greeting. Later, she would recognize that her behavior was shockingly Luffy-like in her excitement to meet the skeleton man, to her slight embarrassment.

"My name is Robin, Brook-san. I'm pleased to make your acquaintance," said Robin with a happy grin. "Is your ship not working anymore? It appears to be quite damaged"

Brook's mood became far more melancholic as he began to recall the story of the Rumbar Pirates. As he finished his tale, Robin almost jumped as she realized that many of the crewmembers from Marco's ship had come aboard and that Saul was audibly sobbing at the sad story from back on the ship. Olvia was smiling sadly at Robin, as she finally realized exactly why Robin had been so determined to come out to the Florian Triangle.

As Brook's tale came to a close, he turned to face Olvia with his usual indecipherable expression. "Ara….may I see your panties?"

His only reply was a pistol whipping him upside the head that promptly vanished back into Olvia's coat.

* * *

It took no effort at all to get Brook to leave with us, as he was more than happy to come. Trying to ensure that he'd become a Strawhat on the other hand…that was another matter entirely, but not because it was hard to convince Brook…

* * *

 **Robin's Room**

Brook sat across from Robin, staring at her unblinkingly (But he has no eyes to blink, yohoho! Skull Joke!)

"May I?" asked Robin, reaching for his hand. Brook silently handed her his hand in confusion, unsure about what the purpose was. Robin took his bony hand in hers, hoping that something would happen. She forced herself to hold in a sigh. That would have been far too easy, no? To magically have Brook remember the future she could remember? Alas, no.

"Robin-san, what are you doing?" questioned Brook. Robin let loose a small sigh before offering him a small smile, "What I'm about to tell you is going to sound crazy, but please hear me out."

 **Outside Robin's Room**

"YOHOHOHOHO!" came a voice from inside the ship, making most of those on the ship jump in surprise.

Marco looked around, making eye contact with several aboard the deck, all confused about the strange laugh. Another laugh echoed out from the ship.

As they slowly resumed what they'd been doing before, they heard one sob. Then another. Soon, the ship was racked by sobs coming from inside the ship intermixed with laughter as Brook learned the story of the Straw Hats and their adventures.

 **Robin's Room**

"I-I…I believe you, Robin-san. I completely believe you. There's no other way you could know so much. Like the names of so many of the songs I play regularly, or small details I never mentioned when I shared the tale of the Rumbar Pirates. A proper crew! Yohohoho! This gentleman has never been so happy!"

Robin smiled warmly at Brook, glad that Brook had been so willing to listen to her. She supposed that after being isolated for so long, the thought of having nakama that bordered on family like the Straw Hats was simply too good to not be true. Especially not when comparing Robin's story of how he originally joined the Straw Hats, versus what he'd gleamed about their current voyage in the Florian Triangle from others on board; that Robin was the one that lead this expedition and had wanted to come out here for years.

"I'm really glad you do Brook. I was afraid…that I'd be holding on to this knowledge forever in my head with nobody to tell the truth to. That our crew would not know the truth that would allow us to come together, stronger and happier than ever," said Robin with a lost look in her eyes. "I was afraid that in the end, the crew I'd bring together would be a mockery of what we all had, tied together through the force of my actions rather than the friendship we shared. And that because of my actions, that I'd alienate myself further from the others. I'm so happy that you believe me. It gives me hope that one day, I'll be able to tell all of the others the truth."

Brook's happy tears stopped as he stared at Robin.

"Robin-san, I don't know how the others will react to this. Or how they will feel about it. Or even if you want to tell them this in the end. Just know that I'm eternally grateful to you for saving me from my personal hell, and offering me a chance to once more be a part of an amazing crew. And that I cannot imagine that any of the others, from what you've told me of them, would ever hold your actions against you. On behalf of us all, for your actions, thank you. Thank you so very much," said Brook in a clipped whisper, as he choked on his words and smiled.

Robin embraced Brook in a hug that was reciprocated happily. Neither of them were alone any longer, in any way. They now numbered two. By the time they were through, they'd be back at full strength.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: (-14Y2PR)**

* * *

 _The Moby Dick_

"ZEHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was early morning as a loud, powerful laugh broke across the deck of the Moby Dick, with few men out and about in the early morning fog. With no wind, the fog hung heavily in the morning air, adding a somber and desolate air to what was an otherwise a lively gathering spot for the Whitebeard Pirates. Whitebeard sat in his traditional seat completely indifferent to the early morning weather, gazing neutrally upon his 4th Division Commander Thatch as he presented his newest recruit.

"You…said your name was Teach?" questioned Whitebeard, his face unreadable.

"Yes, Whitebeard! I have sailed through the Grand Line in hopes of meeting a man like you, zehahaha!" exclaimed Blackbeard jovially, "I wandered the seas with little purpose but then I met Thatch, who has become a brother to me! It was only later that I found out that Thatch was one of your commanders."

Whitebeard's eyebrow shifted almost imperceptibly at that.

"-and I asked to join him! He explained what it means to be a Whitebeard Pirate. So here I am. Asking you to accept me as a son!" finished Whitebeard, as he got down to one knee before the massive man.

Whitebeard sat silently as Marco stood by his side, his eyes narrowed slightly as he stared a hole into Teach.

It felt like an eternity before Whitebeard made to stand from his seat, taking slow, heavy steps toward the kneeling Blackbeard, making the man lower his gaze, an ever-present grin still on his face.

"If I am to be your father…then you are to meet your brothers. For all of my sons are brothers. Welcome to my family….son," stated Whitebeard as he placed an arm on Teach's shoulder and lifted him upwards from his kneeling position. Teach's smile widened as he bellowed happily in victory.

Still standing back by his seat, Marco watched in confusion as Thatch congratulated his new brother.

* * *

 _That Night_

Teach's joining of the Whitebeards had resulted in a massive party that brought together most of the nearby Division Commanders aboard the Moby Dick, raging throughout most of the day, as was tradition every time a man joined. It was very late into the night as the last few men turned in and the fires began to dim, when Marco decided to approach Whitebeard.

Whitebeard was sitting in his usual throne-like seat, fairly drunk from the festivities, and simply gazing out onto the water in the moonlight as though deep in thought, a satisfied smile on his face. As Marco approached, he turned his head to meet his son's gaze, having anticipated that this moment would come.

"Father," said Marco in greeting as he lazily strolled before him. Whitebeard nodded in greeting, before gesturing for Marco to follow him as he got up from his seat.

Marco silently trailed Whitebeard to the front of the Moby Dick, and joined his Captain and father side by side as they gazed out on the trail of light the moon left on the slowly rocking waves which even the Moby Dick, as large as it was, was unable to ignore and bobbed right along with its gentle motions.

The two simply stood for a while, silent, before Marco decided to break the silence once it was clear that nobody was around to listen in.

"Why did…I know you haven't forgotten Nico-chan's warning-yoi. I could see it in your eyes when you were judging Teach earlier. Why have you decided to accept him into our _family_ ," said Marco, as his voice slowly rose in volume and heat, still low, but clearly more agitated, " _when Nico-chan has told us that he'll betray us in the future-yoi?_ " finished Marco, clearly exasperated.

Whitebeard's response was instant and confident. "Because a man's fate is their own, and nothing is set in stone. Because I cannot believe that a man can throw away their family without reason."

"Yet Nico-c-"

"Enough, Marco. I'm not going to condemn a man to death on the word of one girl," interrupted Whitebeard. Marco was visibly frustrated with his father as struggled with how to respond.

"Nico-chan isn't just any girl, father. She knows things. Things she has absolutely no business knowing-yoi. And from what Saul has told me, she's spent her entire life since he's met her giving him cryptic hints of the future. She even told him the exact date that Gol D. Roger would be captured and executed!" exclaimed Marco.

Whitebeard made to respond, but Marco wasn't finished, "-and what's more, I'm not saying you have to execute Teach. But why let him into our family? It would have been safer for us all to keep him at a distance. From what I can gather, Nico-chan doesn't drop hints unless it's something serious-yoi," stated Marco as he finally recomposed himself, exhaling loudly as he got out everything he wanted to say.

"I'm the old man, Marco. You're too young to be jumping at shadows on superstitions," replied Whitebeard levelly. "I accepted Blackbeard into our family because I don't believe in a man's fate being pre-destined. I refuse to shun a son of mine over something that has yet to happen. If he betrays us in the future, so be it. But until that moment happens, he is my son, innocent of any crime against us."

Marco was annoyed, but he understood that his father was finished on the matter and that he'd have to drop this for now. He resolved to have a conversation with Thatch, and perhaps a few of the other Division Commanders if needed. And who knew. Perhaps his father was right. Before he met Nico Robin, he'd have completely agreed with his father's sentiments on fate. But after the episode in the Florian Triangle? Now, now he wasn't quite so sure.

* * *

"Hang on old guy, we're almost there!" exclaimed Hachan as he swam at top speed towards the Sabaody Archipelago. It wasn't every day he met some random man in the middle of the ocean that had no idea how he got there.

"Thanks, Hachi-kun. You have my gratitude, as I had no idea where I was. I'm sure my wife will reward you with some treats for your help," said the Dark King Silvers Rayleigh with a small smile. He really did appreciate it. Sure there was no way he was going to die out at sea in Paradise of all places. He could catch fish or Sea Kings, if he was desperate for food. Salt water meant nothing to him. And the weather was a good workout as far as he can concerned. But being lost is never fun. It's funny how little sense for direction he had…but thankfully, his ability to play everything cool meant that in all of his lifetime, only two people ever realized how poor his sense of direction was. His Captain, and his wife.

As Hachi slowed down, Rayleigh stopped with his musing and tried to channel what little sense for directions he had. Stretched out before them lay the mangroves of Sabaody, and with Rayleigh's directions they made their way over to Shakky's Rip Off Bar over in Grove 13 after a few wrong turns, to Hachan's exasperation.

"Yosh, here we are!" exclaimed Hatchan as he helped Rayleigh climb out of the water and followed along himself. Following after Rayleigh, the two made their way into the empty bar where Shakky sat, smoking a cigarette and watching them with mild amusement.

"Look what the fishman dragged in, arara," said Shakky as she took a drag, mirth clear in her voice. After Rayleigh handled the introductions and explained how Hachan had helped him out, Shakky turned to the little octopus fishman and knelt down, patting him gently in the head fondly.

"Thanks, Hatchi-kun, for taking care of this lost old man for me. Feel free to visit whenever you like. Do you want some juice?"

"Yosh!" exclaimed Hatchi, arms up in the air in victory and a big smile on his face.

* * *

"Captain! Run! Run, and don't look back!" exclaimed a severely injured man, just as a massive mammoth's foot came crashing over him and a loud, sickly crack echoed out through the battlefield.

Before Gekko Moriah lay his crew and ship. Or rather, it's remnants after Kaido got through with them. Moriah sat on the floor, kneeling and clenching dirt between his hands, desperation and pain clear in his eyes as he witnessed the death of his beloved comrades and the allies he'd gathered in order to crush Kaido. The man was frozen to the ground out of shock and despair despite his subordinate's pleas. Perona's projected spirit sat by Moriah's side, wailing in anguish as the only friends she'd ever known had all perished. All she had left…was Moriah-sama. Kumashi, her pet bear, was dead. The crew was dead. To the 9-year old girl, this was the most painful moment in her entire life even as she tried and failed to get Moriah to get on the small boat where her body lay.

Jack, still in elephant form slowly marched forward towards the sands while behind him stood Kaido, frowning darkly at the broken remnant of a man that had thought to challenge him. All around them, fires were raging as the Beast Pirates began to desecrate the corpses of the fallen, laughing wildly at their cruelty. Moriah's flagship, the Dark Dangerous, was nothing but a burning skeleton behind him, courtesy of the Gifters.

"FLEE, COWARD!"

At Kaido's roar, life seemed to return to Moriah, if only for his pupils to dilate in fear. Looking up in to the dark and cruel face of the King of Beasts and his right hand man, Moriah shakily stood up and stumbled to the galley where Perona's body waited, as Perona's spirit continued to plead for him to hurry through her tears. Jack stopped marching towards the man at Kaido's command, staring at Moriah with clear bloodlust in his eyes.

As he woodenly got on the ship, the roaring laughter of the Beast Pirates could be heard. Perona, by now awake within her own body, quickly began to row away, still crying out her grief. The only thing Moriah could do was sit with head held between his hands as a few tears escaped his eyes, a broken man as the laughter grew dimmer and dimmer.

* * *

Magellan stood at attention, his face a mix of horror and disgust as the warden of Impel Down stared at him in disbelief.

"Shiki….severed both of his legs? They're still attached to the Sea Stone manacles?" asked the warden slowly, palpable disbelief in his voice as he stared at Magellan from behind his desk.

"Hai! Sir! Please, let me track him down! He must still be in the prison!" said Magellan as he gathered his composure and a determined look crossed his face. The warden seemed to contemplate this before nodding.

"Granted. Go, Magellan! I want you to hunt the Lion down!"

* * *

"JIHAHAHAHAHA!" laughed out Shiki as he took the air, easily avoiding the reach of Magellan's Hydra attack. All around him there was chaos. Shiki had tapped most of the Marine ships on the way out of Impel Down and as a result, they were flying about in a smokescreen for his departure. Two of them had collapsed Impel Down's outer wall. Several others had been forced below the water and were now sinking as they overfilled with water, with many Marines floating and screaming as the Sea Kings appeared and began to devour them. Another ship was simply floating upwards with no seeming end, and Magellan could hear the crew's screams from here. Magellan grit his teeth, staring a hole through the quickly shrinking visage of Shiki's back before he was interrupted with a loud "MAGELLAN!"

Jumping in shock, he quickly turned to salute his superior officer. "Sir! The prisoner has escaped, sir!"

Standing by his side at the entrance to Impel Down was the warden, leaning on his walking cane as a small, but grim smile came to the old, balding man's face. "You are granted permission to chase down and apprehend Shiki the Lion. Effective immediately, you are to go with Vice Admirals Bastille and Doberman who will be arriving here within half an hour from Marineford. Your objective is to track down and capture Shiki the Lion, alive or dead. You are given control of this operation."

Magellan raised an eyebrow in surprise, before his superior answered the unspoken question. "The Marines are stretched thin at the moment moving people around to try and cover Shiki's traditional bases of power with admirals and most of their vice-admirals. The new Fleet Admiral, Sengoku, has asked that we assist them in order to lessen their manpower constraints. And the Gorosei has made it clear that this is not optional. After the failure at Ohara, the Gorosei is eager to flex its muscles. Part of this means that you're going to be taking a Marine rank, at least provisionally, until this assignment is complete. Congratulations, Vice-Admiral Magellan," said the warden thinly. It was clear he was displeased about losing his heir apparent to the position of warden to the marines, but there was little choice in the matter.

"Hai!" said Magellan, shocked that he'd essentially jumped three ranks from the last time he'd worn a Marine uniform. A grim look crossed his face at the thought of his mission. Capturing Shiki the Lion would be no easy feat, even for three Vice-Admirals. Not when it took the Fleet Admiral and Garp the Fist himself to bring him in the first time, even if he had lost his legs.

* * *

"Sorry to interrupt you during your vacation Garp, but it's about the Gold Lion."

"I heard. We'd better be careful," said Garp into the Den-Den Mushi, sitting outside of the bar operated by Makino's frail mother.

"Still, I don't see why you're spreading us out to anticipate him. You know he's a pretty careful guy, after all," said Garp without a trace of humor in his voice for once. Sengoku nodded from his desk at Marineford, causing the Den-Den Mushi Garp was using to nod its afro-covered head along with him.

"It's true that he's cautious, but right now that man has no resources and two lost legs. If we can catch him early enough in this weakened state, I think that we'll be able to take him in far more easily than you and I did last time," reasoned Sengoku, to which Garp hesitantly nodded.

"Well, either way. I've got a grandson to visit before I go!" exclaimed Garp, breaking up the rather dampened mood.

"Damn it Garp! We need you right now to make sure this plan is a success! Are you listening to me Garp?! Garp?! GARP YOU BASTARD, PICK UP THE DEN-DEN-MUSHI!" yelled out a very exasperated Fleet Admiral into the Den Den Mushi on his end.

Makino, who'd just been playing with a ball outside overheard the angry shouting and stepped inside, starring at the Den-Den Mushi, then Garp's retreating back which was walking towards the mountain off in the distance, then back again to the Den-Den Mushi before giggling and deciding to help the person calling out.

"Hello, Mr. Sengoku? Garp is gone. He's going up a mountain," answered Makino kindly, causing the Den-Den Mushi to do a double take before sighing.

"…he left his dedicated Den-Den Mushi at a random bar in Foosha Village. Wonderful," said Garp's Den-Den Mushi with Sengoku's voice, a defeated look clear on its face.

* * *

"ACE-CHAN! IT'S ME, GRANDPA!" exclaimed Garp making silly faces at his grandson.

Baby Ace giggled happily in response, while Dadan jumped up, startled.

"GARP! At least you didn't break my wall this time!" exclaimed Dadan

"Oh don't worry, I'll be sure to get it on my way out," said Garp, picking his nose lazily in disinterest.

"GARP!"

* * *

A very large man wearing a bandana sat lazily in a bar in Alaburna, a half demolished ham sitting in front of him as he nursed his beer. The bar was fairly quiet, and the attitude of most of the patrons, this large man included, matched the atmosphere.

All of this changed once a red-headed man stepped inside loudly, shouting for the bartender to get everybody inside a round, on him to the cheers of everybody inside.

 _Several Hours Later_

"So uh….whatcha say? You wanna come w-with us?" asked Shanks slurringly, swaying just a bit as he sat on the stool next to the large man with the bandana.

"Sure Banks, no prob. It's not like I was doing anything useful in Alabasta! No one's threatened the Royal Family in over a decade since I joined the Royal Guard! Igaram won't care, he'll be glad the food bill for the palace will drop by a third!" exclaimed the large man jovially.

Nodding happily, Shanks stood up, wobbling just a bit.

"OI! Everybody! We've got a new nakama! Everyone, please stand up and give a cheer for Betty Boo!"

"LUCKY ROO!"

"DUCK GOES MOO, EVERYBODY!"

Everyone broke out into a roaring laugh seeing the two go back and forth, and at their Captain's complete lack of alcohol tolerance. For someone so fond of drinking every day, he sure sucked at holding it.

* * *

"Your majesty! Don't you think you're spoiling Wapol-sama just a bit too much?" questioned Dalton cautiously, gauging how the King of Drum Island would take the comment. Contemplating it, he nodded in agreement.

"I think you're right. Wapol's getting rather ridiculous in what he expects of others. I'll talk to him."

* * *

 _"Binkusu no sake wo, todoke ni yuku yo! umikaze kimakase namimakase! Shio no mukou de, yuuhi mo sawagu! Sora nya wa wo kaku, tori no uta! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho!"_

Laboon sang along wildly happy as Brook played the recording of his crew, singing and playing along himself with his violin. Robin stood to the side next to Crocus, quietly singing along with a small smile on her lips as Brook relished the moment with his large nakama.

Crocus and Saul were loudly and happily singing along, both fairly drunk, and both fairly off pitch but adding to the atmosphere of the whole thing as the Whitebeard Pirates that had sailed them so far back in Paradise happily joined in.

 _"Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho! Yo-hohoho, Yo-hohoho!"_

* * *

"Yatta!" exclaimed Franky loudly, the other members of Tom's Workers laughing along lightly while Iceburg scoffed, a small grin at the corner of his mouth.

"The first set of rails is finally laid out! Now all that's left is to finish Puffing Tom, tahahaha!" exclaimed Tom, a very pleased grin on his face.

The crew was sitting at a midway station out in the middle of the ocean, whooping and celebrating at their latest achievement. Kokoro was grinning wider than usual as she brought out food and alcohol for an impromptu celebration. Yokozuna sat nearby, happily partaking in the offered alcohol.

"Just about two more years to go until the first line is complete!" exclaimed Franky as he stood up excitedly, pumped and SUPER and ready to go.

"Tahahaha! Rest easy for now, Franky. Right now it's time to celebrate. Tomorrow, we'll continue with a DON!"

* * *

Whitebeard sat eyeing the retreating figure of Shiki warily as he flew off. He had to wonder at exactly what Shiki was getting at. The last few things he'd told him continued to echo through his head.

" _I'm planning to go into hiding for a while, but don't worry. I'll be back sooner than you think and I'll show these upstarts what a true Age of Pirates is like. To do that I need an army. The next time we meet I hope that you'll see things my way, Whitebeard, and join me in bringing a true Age of Piracy to these amateurs!"_

 _What is that lunatic planning?_

* * *

 **AN:**

 **So, a few things to cover that are somewhat plot-significant but don't spoil anything.**

 **I'll have chapters dedicated to showing how the world has changed every once in a while. They're going to have a label (-XYZPR), which means (X years before Luffy sails out, Z years Post-Roger). So this chapter, (-14Y2PR) means (14 years before Luffy sails out, 2 years Post-Roger). Once we get to the point in time where Luffy originally sailed out, we'll go + instead of – to indicate the change**

 **I'm going to treat Shiki as canon but I'm going to play hard and fast with the details we got from Strong World and Episode 0 since the movie was…eh. I didn't love it, didn't hate it. Some things didn't make much sense, but most of the backstory was fine. Shiki will be doing thangs, yo. But not Strong World-style thangs. Consider pre-TS Luffy singlehandedly defeating a man that took both Garp and Sengoku at their primes to beat officially redacted in this story.**

 **My timeline was skewed by 2 years; Gol D. Roger died when Nico Robin was 6, not 8. For the purposes of this story, we're going to roll onwards with this assumption because, well, it's done, and it's a part of this story's legacy at this point. How does this affect the plot? Well, not much except that instead of treating Ace as being a newborn baby at birth, he was physically about a year and a half old at birth and everyone recognizes his 'age' to be about one year younger than he was in canon. All other events don't care; I imagine that in context, it's actually really important but because we have so few details about what went on immediately before and after Roger's death, canon isn't broken by any means**

 **Please drop a review with any feedback, as it's always appreciated to read.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: The Little King's Story**

* * *

I was a month shy of 16 when Brook and I finally set sail to meet our future Captain for the first time. We would be operating under a tight schedule, but I was determined to make sure everything worked out fine. The plan was very simple. Introduce ourselves early. Watch over him as he trains. Offer to educate him and his brothers. We couldn't stay on Dawn Island forever of course, so lessons would happen whenever possible.

The plan was to set off weeks in advance, arrive roughly around when I estimated Shanks would be there by having a Whitebeard Commander drop us off in the North Blue, cross the rough ocean currents that separated the North Blue from the East Blue, then sail to Dawn Island. This was Phase 1 of our plan for the year.

* * *

 _12 years before Luffy's first voyage_

Brook was playing a slow, calm tune on his violin while observing his nakama. Robin stood at the helm, steering the ship with a pair of arms sprouted on either side of the wheel to steer it as she gazed at the island their boat was steadily approaching. It was a small galley at most, with only a small cabin and a medium-sized sail, unimpressive and unmarked in any way. As Robin looked away to smile at Brook, he detected the small hint of nervousness she felt.

"Robin-san, you should relax. I'm excited to meet Captain-san too, but you're so tense it's making my nerves tingle. But I have no nerves which can tingle, yohohoho! Skull Joke!" exclaimed Brook's high voice as he continued to play a calming melody.

Robin nodded, and took a slow, deep breath. Brook was right. There was nothing to fear, and it'd be hard to disrupt someone like Luffy from being who they were. But she couldn't help but worry, both about the possibility that she'd change her Captain for the worse by altering his childhood, and the nervous butterflies she felt in her stomach when she thought back to their fearless leader as an adult. What would she feel? Joy? Disappointment? Calm? Attraction? That last thought in particular made her shudder in fear at what could come next once she saw him again. She already had confidence issues in accepting her attraction and love for the fully grown Luffy because of her age and past. The last thing she needed was to literally feel like a cradle robber and pedophile.

"It's not your bounty that's got you down, is it?" asked Brook as he looked at the wanted poster pinned up against the cabin door, showing a picture of a 15-year old Robin, arms crossed and eyes closed in a purple top, with Saul clearly visible and grinning in the background.

 **Flower Oracle Robin**

 **Wanted Alive – 17,000,000 Beli**

Ah, yes. The World Government had finally caught on to her existence. She wasn't sure how or why, but the story had managed to leak to the higher ups that she had predicted the oncoming Buster Call that wiped the island of Ohara barren. Her bets were on a Cipher Pol mole in Whitebeard's family, as it wouldn't be the first time their agents had infiltrated a pirate crew. Just look at Byrnndi World; between Cipher Pol, the Marines, and allied pirates the infamous man had been brought down near bloodlessly. The World Government's wild success with the operation led to both the creation of the Shichibukai and the creation of additional Cipher Pol units, numbered 0 through 9. Just her luck. So much for a low profile before the crew assembled. Now the government wanted her for questioning.

Snapping out of her pessimistic thoughts when Brook tapped her on the shoulder, she steered the boat carefully into the Foosha Village wharf as Brook took down the sail. Stepping across onto the dock, the duo took a long look around, making note of reddish mahogany pirate ship docked by them, the Jolly Roger of the Red Hair Pirates clear as day on several flags hanging off of the ship. Looks like they'd be stepping into a party, if Luffy's stories were right.

Robin was wearing her training outfit with a lightweight purple hooded jacket on and pulled up to hide parts of her face, while Brook wore a similar outfit to what she'd found him in with a snappy open coat, pants, top hat, cane and cravat although the usual blue one had been replaced by a bright red cravat embedded with green gemstones. He felt no need to disguise his presence, as he had yet to make any waves beyond his skeletal appearance.

Following the loud laughter they could hear echoing throughout the town, the two made their way to a building labeled 'Party's Bar'. Gesturing for Brook to follow her, the two stealthily made their way behind the bar as Robin willed an ear to form underneath one of the open windows and an eye to form behind the barmaid on the bottle rack, hidden between two bottles of gin. Robin sat down in the grass, leant against the bar, and closed her eyes peacefully. Brook stood by her, patiently waiting against a wall where no one looking from the inside would be able to see him.

The two sat there for about an hour or so as they head the pirates laughing loudly as an indignant, squeaky-sounding Luffy complained about not being taken seriously. At that moment, Robin had never felt so relatable to her captain after all the years she spent being mothered. She smiled, beyond happy at their excellent timing. From the sounds of it, Luffy hadn't eaten the Gomu Gomu no Mi fruit just yet which meant today was the perfect day to introduce themselves.

The two sat patiently as they heard Higuna bust into the bar, cause a scene, then depart when Shanks deescalated the situation, followed by Luffy's frustrated outburst. Once she heard Shanks exclaim about the Gomu Gomu no Mi, she stood up, causing Brook to stand up straight and step in behind her. Calmly, the two made their way to the front and stepped inside quietly. Due to Shanks' uproar over Luffy eating the Devil Fruit, nobody but Benn Beckmann seemed to notice them. Beckman gave the two a once over before grinning widely when he saw Brook. He could already tell this'd be a riot.

Sitting down by Luffy's side, the two managed to get everybody, even Shanks and Luffy who was still upside down, to focus on them when Brook raised a bony finger and asked if they served sangria.

Everybody stopped what they were doing and gaped at the duo(mostly Brook), to the point where Shanks dropped Luffy on his head and even Luffy didn't seem to notice as he sat up, his rubbery jaw stretching all the way to the floor and his eyes popping out of his head.

"SUGOI!" exclaimed the excited boy as he gestured wildly at Brook, making the skeleton titter like a schoolgirl and making a shooing motion to stop. Like a dam, the silence broke.

"WHOAAAAAAA!" exclaimed the bar patrons in shock and surprise as conversation broke down into excited gasps and shouts over the newcomer. Shanks stood up, a determined look in his eye as he walked up to Brook and stared at the now laughing skeleton as Luffy continued to gush over him.

"SUGOI! Skeleton-san, join my crew!" exclaimed Shanks with stars in his eyes, causing the other pirates in the bar to roar out a cheer in agreement.

"Ara, sorry, no can do. I've already got a crew," said Brook apologetically, causing Shanks to completely deflate along with much of his crew, "Oh."

Makino watched on with big eyes as she brought Brook his drink and he took a sip. Robin eyed the nervous girl that was about her age and offered her an understanding smile. The bartender however, kept her wits about her and offered Robin a small grin as a reply before asking, "Anything for you?"

"Coffee, if you have any," requested Robin as she made to pull down her hood. Makino nodded as the Red Hair Pirates turned their attention to her. Most just shrugged or went to gossiping about the pretty nee-san next to the skeleton, but Shanks grinned at her before offering a small bow.

"Hello, the name is Shanks. What's a lovely lady like you doing here, taking a vacation?" questioned Shanks, wagging his eyebrows.

Robin smiled, "Something like that. A girl has to avoid the Marines somewhere nice if at all possible." The man was nice and from everything Luffy'd mentioned about him(which was a lot) the man was Luffy's role model. But, she already had a Captain.

Shanks' eyebrows scrunched a bit in confusion before Beckmann spoke up from the back of the bar, "It's Oracle Robin Captain," said the man as he took a puff of his cigarette, "You know, the one everyone in the New World is saying can see the future?" Robin's countenance didn't change but internally, Robin crouched down ground as a rain cloud poured over her; _'It's worse than I thought. Everybody knows that I'm from an alternate dimension'_ moped the girl as she drew a circle in the dirt.

"Oh!" exclaimed Shanks, slapping a fist into his palm in understanding. Lucky Roo was, as always, eating a piece of ham from the bone with an eternal grin on his face as Yasopp gave Robin and Brook the once-over. "I dunno Captain, sounds like a lot of hocus pocus to me."

Shanks laughed before asking, "So Robin-san, got anything we should know about?"

Robin thought it over for a moment before mechanically turning her head at Yasopp, crossing her arms, and causing an arm to appear from the roof, pointing straight down at Yasopp. "This one needs to go visit his family before you leave the East Blue to spend some time with his son. Otherwise I see incredible pain and hardship in that boy's future, especially if he doesn't learn how to fight bravely." She had long since learned that playing the part of a seeing mystic made people take her far more seriously than if she rationally explained how she knew things she shouldn't and that she was from an alternate dimension, as sad as it was.

Yasopp looked visibly uncomfortable and torn before bolting up and racing out of the tavern, heading straight towards the Red Hair Pirates' ship. In the distance, a few words were faintly heard, "See ya later Captain, I'm going on vacation! I'll take the dingy! Pick me up from where we first met when we're ready to leave the East Blue! Yahoooo!"

Everyone stared in shock before they all began roaring in laughter.

"FINALLY!" exclaimed Lucky Roo as he set down a piece of mutton, "That man has only talked about three things since I met him. His son, his aim, and his son. Maybe he'll add a third thing to talk about after this!" Everyone laughed harder at that.

Wiping a tear from his eye, Shanks chuckled before responding, "True enough. He was pretty sore when we ended up docking here instead of his hometown, Syrup Village. He was torn between his ties as a pirate and his need to see his son, but it's no problem at all if he wants to take a vacation while we're all on vacation. He could have just asked, and he'd have been there a week earlier! Hopefully he doesn't get into too much trouble on his own…"

Luffy was now staring at Robin with stars in his eyes at how cool her power was.

"Ne, ne! What can you tell me about MY future, Robin!" asked the boy excitedly.

Robin looked down at the boy and got her first real look at his smiling face and felt a warm, happy feeling in her stomach that thankfully, had not a trace of eroticism attached. This boy was clearly the person she fell hard for in his mannerisms and way of speaking, but that love was strictly emotional at the moment. Internally, she breathed easy. This would be far easier on her nerves, now that she was certain she was no pervert.

Robin offered the boy a warm smile in return before placing a hand on his head and gently messing with his hair as she closed her eyes, the smile never leaving her face. "Tell me, what's your name?"

"Luffy!" exclaimed the boy, his excitement palpable. Brook, having finished with his drink turned to look at the boy, studying him with an eager smile.

"Mhm, Luffy…what a nice name. I see so much. More than I think I've ever seen for anybody else. You ate the Gomu Gomu no Mi? That fruit will make you very powerful. You're going to take its power to a level never seen before," said Robin in an eerily calm voice which she'd mentally dubbed her 'trance' voice.

"SUGOI! Now I'm REALLY glad I ate that fruit, even if it tasted like dirt!" exclaimed Luffy happily. Shanks just shook his head bemusedly at the boy's singlemindedness.

Robin opened her eyes and offered the boy another smile, eyes crinkling as she stared at him and took in his features. Yes, this was definitely Luffy, if his behavior hadn't given it away already. Her childish Captain had always had a youthful element to him in his face that was notable on the young five-year old standing next to her seat. By the time she was through, he'd hopefully be just a bit happier than when he first set off, with the knowledge that both of his brothers were awaiting him out on the Grand Line.

A cough interrupted her train of thought as Brook bowed deeply to the boy, bonking him lightly with his top hat as he introduced himself to which her future Captain enthusiastically returned his greetings, and asked him if he pooped. Robin giggled. Yup. This was Luffy alright.

"A toast! To this happy meeting between us all!" exclaimed Brook as he stood up straight and pulled out his violin. The Red Hair Pirates cheered as they scrambled to locate something with which to make music.

The first note played, then the second, before Brook broke into Bink's Sake and the Red Hair Pirates caught on, using the tables, chairs, window panes, and even a few instruments they had on hand to play along, singing loudly with Brook as Luffy stared in awe, mesmerized, before a few verses in he joined into the chorus.

* * *

We spent the next week or so visiting Luffy at Makino's bar every day. We rented some rooms from the local inn and settled in, laughing with our future Captain who took to us like a fish to water while the Red Hair Pirates went out to explore the East Blue and check up on Yasopp. This eased a lot of the tension I'd been feeling for years, ever since I woke up as my eight-year old self now that I could visibly see myself making a difference in my nakama's childhoods. Brook had taught Luffy how to play a small ukulele he'd brought along from Foodvalten, while I'd managed to keep Luffy until late at the bar as I told him, Makino and Brook accounts from some of the books I'd brought along of some historical events, fascinating Luffy and leading him to declare that history was cool. Brook had a good laugh later at my expense due to my inability to get my smile off my face after he'd said that to me.

We made a point of showing up every day at around noon for lunch because of a specific event I felt that I shouldn't alter; how Luffy got his straw hat. I did my best to write down everything I could think of related to the story I'd heard him tell us, as Brook and I sat down to brainstorm what to do and not do to make sure everything went as planned. And so, we showed up at noon knowing that one morning, Higuna would return. Brook was against letting the man we'd befriended, Shanks, lose an arm, but I reasoned that Shanks made that choice that day of his own volition to lose that arm, and that it was no accident. A Yonkou doesn't simply lose an arm to a small Sea King. There had to be a reason for it. Brook eventually agreed to let happen what may happen, against his better judgement. Then that day finally arrived.

* * *

"I've decided to become a pirate on my own now!" said Luffy as gazed out over the men preparing the Red Hair Pirates' ship for voyage. Shanks stuck his tongue out at him.

"Bleeeh! I wasn't gonna take you anyway! You'll never be a pirate!" exclaimed the man with a grin and a clear twinkle in his eyes. Luffy grit his teeth in frustration at his idol's lack of faith.

"I will!" exclaimed Luffy angrily, "Someday, I'm gonna gather a crew every good as yours, and I'm gonna find the greatest treasure in the world, AND I'M GONNA BE KING OF THE PIRATES! I'LL SHOW YOU!"

Shanks smiled at his words. "You're gonna surpass us, huh?" Luffy was visibly trying to hold himself together as Shanks lifted his good arm to his head. "In that case…I'll leave this hat to you. It's dear to me. Take good care of it!"

Luffy was shocked silent, before tears started to leak from his eyes as the straw hat on his head covered his eyes. Teeth grit, he watched the Red Hair Pirates leave as his tears flowed. Shanks watched, a pleased smile on his face as he saw Luffy being comforted by Makino, as Robin and Brook stepped forward next to her and each placed a hand on Luffy's shoulders.

' _Come bring it back to me some day! Once you've become a great pirate and made some amazing friends! That's our promise, Luffy!'_

Robin turned to Luffy, a carefully guarded expression masking the anxiety she felt inside as she readied herself mentally. Something about now just screamed at her that now was the time for this.

"Ne, Luffy? If you're going to be Pirate King, you're going to need a crew. What do you say if I join your crew?" asked Robin as she stubbornly stared at her feet, refusing to look at the boy who'd now stopped leaking tears as he gazed up at her, amazed.

"Me too Luffy-san, me too! I don't know why, but my old bones feel something amazing about you!" added Brook, "I can't wait to be a pirate musician again, yohohoho!"

Luffy stepped away from Makino's comforting hold on his shoulders to stare at the two in shock. It took a few seconds, but a massive, happy grin came to his face as he nodded, "Yosh! Sounds good! Now we're three, and together we'll sail the seas and find One Piece! Take that Shanks, all my nakama are amazing!"

Makino gave Robin and Brook long, searching stares before deciding to hold off on any doubts and instead smiled at Luffy, happy to see that his previously sad mood had completely disappeared thanks to her new friends.

* * *

It was several days later that Garp finally arrived and marched Luffy off to Mt. Colubo. Brook and I were…frankly, terrified. Garp the Fist was a legend amongst all pirates, and Brook had heard enough from hanging out with the Whitebeard Pirates to know what was up. I knew fully well that that man was a monster. The man that brought in Roger, Shiki, and Byrnndi World. The Hero of the Marines. If he caught us now, it was the end.

We slowly followed the trail of destroyed foliage Garp left in his wake as he marched up the mountain, Luffy shouting his head off in protest which Garp ignored or silenced with a Fist of Love, saying that the mountain life would be good for him and that if he really wanted to he could go and visit Foosha sometime. But made it absolutely clear that he would be living on Mt. Colubo from now on.

Eventually, we reached a house in the middle of the jungle. We took cover behind some bushes a third of a kilometer away, still incredibly nervous at the thought of being discovered. Eventually, a crash was heard as Garp burst out of the wall. And immediately turned towards our location with a deadly look in his eye.

Brook shrieked shrilly and immediately began to run away, and I followed straight after him in fear. We ran, thundering down the mountain as we heard a crashing noise behind us indicating that trees were falling due to Garp's charge. It wasn't long before he caught up to us however; Garp the Fist was simply not someone you outran unless he got bored or hungry.

A shadow leapt over us and lo and behold, Garp stood, arms crossed, eyeing us gruffly. We immediately turned left and continued to sprint, before Garp stepped out from behind a tree, the same look on his face as we came closer and closer.

We turned again.

Out stepped Garp from the middle of a stream, a frog sitting on his head as it croaked loudly.

Again we ran.

Out stepped Garp from behind a small rock formation.

Again.

Another tree.

Again.

The ground like a meerkat.

Again.

Upside down from the leaf canopy.

Exhausted and terrified, we turned around and bolted towards Foosha Village and our boat. And then out stepped Garp from the mouth of the local megafauna, a giant crococdile. We came to a dead stop, gaped at him in shock, before turning in a different direction and running away before taking cover behind a rock once we were sure we were out of his line of sight.

* * *

"Do- *gasp* -do you think we lost him, Robin-san?" asked Brook as he struggled to catch his breath (but he had no lungs with which to catch air, yohohoho! Skull Joke!)

"Why don't you tell _me_?"

"EEEEEEK!" screamed Brook.

WHAM!

Brook slammed several inches into the ground as Garp jumped down from atop the boulder they were hiding behind and slapped him downwards casually. Robin froze immediately, trapped now that Brook was down. A thousand regrets welled in her heart as she raised her hands in the air, indicating her surrender.

Garp stared at the two before putting a hand to his mouth in shock and pointing at Brook.

"Wah! What happened to _you_ , buddy!?" shouted the startled Marine Admiral as his eyes popped out of his head. Robin was too tired to sweatdrop at that, and Brook was too busy being in pain to say anything. Regaining his composure, Garp stretched out the kinks in his limbs as he looked them over once more.

"Why were you following me?" asked Garp, eyes narrowing.

"W-w-we were trying to find out where Luffy was going," began Robin, "You see, we started tutoring him ever since we met him at Makino's bar. We were surprised to see him leaving the village and into the jungle."

Garp continued to eye them warily as he cracked his knuckles. "Is that so?"

Robin gulped as her life flashed before her eyes. She had two regrets. The first was that Luffy was too young for her to confess her affection for him. The other was that she was going to die without her nakama by her side. And a third, that had just managed to worm its way into her terrified mind was that nobody would find their bodies after Garp got through demolishing them and that they'd be left outside decomposing under the elements….well, she'd decompose, at least. Brook would probably just lay there.

The two were shocked when Garp bowed low rapidly, "Thank you so much for watching after my knuckleheaded grandson! I was wondering how I'd make sure that the boy didn't have rocks for brains while getting strong up here, but this is perfect! You two! Teach my adorable grandsons how to be smart!" exclaimed Garp, a wide grin on his face as Robin just gaped at him like a fish out of water. A faint "ow" could be heard coming from where Brook's face was planted. Garp smiled sheepishly before pulling Brook out of the ground, standing him up, and patting the dirt off him heavily, almost making the skeleton man fall over again.

"…s-sure. Yeah. That's the plan. Will do," said Robin with a glassy, disbelieving look in her eyes as she attempted to salute the man, but instead only managed a sloppy salute to which the grizzled vice admiral grinned and nodded his head in acceptance. Mentally, she was willing all of the craziness of the last twenty minutes to go away and never come back; not even all of the other Staw Hats at their most obnoxious could shellshock her as badly as this.

Garp nodded again, satisfied, before turning away and marching down the mountain towards Foosha and back to his Marine ship as he idly pulled out a bag of crackers and began to chow down.

The two future Straw Hats just stared until he was out of their line of sight before Brook turned to face her.

"Did that really just happen?"

* * *

 _The next day_

"Aww…so you won't stay with me?" asked Luffy glumly as he kicked at the pebbles sitting in the dirt clearing in front of Dadan's home. Robin gave him a sympathetic smile before crouching down to his eye level and patting him fondly on the head.

"Don't worry, we'll be back every once in a while for a few days. We promise."

Luffy nodded sadly as Ace watched the two wierdos hanging around Dadan's place suspiciously from a distance up in a tree. He couldn't wait for them to go away; they kept stopping him from doing what he wanted and knocking that stupid smile off of the rubber boy's face for following him around. And what was with their calling him Captain? Weirdos.

Brook laughed lightly before smiling at the boy, "Don't worry Captain-san, we'll be back before you know it, yohohoho!"

Backing away a bit, the two waved at the saddened boy before resuming their journey back down to Foosha Village; it was time for Part 2 of the plan.

* * *

 _A few days after Moriah's loss to Kaido_

Hocha stared in confusion as a small dingy pulled into the wharf of Foodvalten, before deciding to head over and see who was arriving. This early in the morning, it was a miracle that she was outside at all but she'd wanted to go and breathe a little fresh air after she'd woken from a rather disturbing dream of what would have happened to the Oharans were it not for Nico Robin's prophetic vision.

As she stepped closer, she heard a pained moan come from the boat as well as a young girl's panicked voice. Once she got close enough, she gasped at the sight. A tall, pale man with purple hair sat in the boat bleeding from what looked like several deep cuts, frozen in his sitting position and a lost look on his face.

The other person was a young girl with pink hair in a black dress desperately trying to get the man's attention and stem the flow of blood, with little success. As she eyed the two over, she felt a resolve to help the desperate little girl save her father.

Stepping into the boat, she tore off a piece of her dress and began to clean one of the many wounds on the large man's person as she began to verbally try and reassure the little girl that her father would be alright.

It was only once the wounds were provisionally wrapped that any semblance of life seemed to return to Moriah. Shifting slightly, he got a look at her exhausted expression as she offered him a small smile. The sun, now rising behind her, caught her golden hair in the light and gave her an angelic appearance that made the man's eyes widen.

 _Several months later_

"Thank you, for all of the help you've given me," said Moriah, a sad smile on his otherwise harsh face as he stared at the woman that'd aided him so. "Yeah!" chimed Perona after her father figure, "Thank you so much! I don't know what we would have done without your help!"

Hocha blushed lightly at the praise, before taking a good look at Moriah's face. "So you're off, huh?"

Moriah nodded woodenly, as he recalled the last wish of one of his last crewmembers to live. "Yeah. My crew may be gone but…they died so that I could live to fight again. I can't let this be the end," said Moriah with far more emotion than he'd ever expressed before.

"…" Hocha was silent as she stared down at her feet and the trio settled into an awkward silence. And then…

"…take me with you," said Hocha shyly, making Moriah's eyes widen while Perona whooped loudly in excitement and tackled the woman around the middle in a tight hug. Moriah's face, normally so clouded by painful past thoughts, broke into an honest smile as he realized what was being said, and what was not being said by the kindly woman.

* * *

 _In the Sabaody Archipelago_

Hogback was not having a good year. His one true love, dead. His passion, finished. And the one man with the power to make everything right again, banished off the face of the earth after he was fool enough to face Kaido. Slumped over a drink in the bad side of Sabaody, he weighed his options. He could either try and find out if Moriah was dead or not, try and track down Moriah's devil fruit on the assumption he was dead, or he could turn to science in order to try and resurrect his beloved. Hogback easily opted for the third; he was not one for traveling on the seas or chasing rumors. But in order to try and resurrect his beloved, he'd need many test subjects, both living and dead…how would he get the money to pay for all that, or the subjects?

"Damn it! This bastard had to try and fight back and now he's riddled in cuts. If he dies he's worthless!" exclaimed a man walking past the bar. Hogback cocked an ear, listening intently.

"If we can patch him up, a fishman will be worth a fortune! Where are we going to find a doctor around here though?" asked his compatriot, walking by his side.

Hogback's grin became sinister as he began to laugh at the good fortune that befell him. Standing up, he ran to catch up with the duo.

"Excuse me, I heard that you needed somebody to patch up a slave for you. I am Doctor Hogback. Let's talk terms, shall we?" stated the rotund man as he firmly grabbed onto the two men by the shoulders and lead them back into the bar.

* * *

 _On Water 7, one year earlier_

"Hm?"

Crocodile sat lounging on the open roof bar of a building, cigar smoke rising as he observed the waterways that made up the city. He absolutely loathed it, even if he could admit to himself that the architecture was impressive. So much water, and so little sand…this entire city was a danger to him, but in order to track down the so-called Oracle, he had no choice but to follow her here.

And there she went, taking a boat ride with…a walking skeleton? Whatever. Closing one eye, a trickle of sand left his finger and floated towards the girl. An eye and ear formed in secret, and he observed the duo intently as he focused in on their conversation, piecing it together via sound and lip reading.

"…have to tell Franky now. I should have probably done this earlier, but now's better than never and it will give him a few years to sort out his inventions," said Robin as she looked about in appreciation of the canals.

Brook sat up at the back of the ship, one leg crossed over the other as he played his violin and drawing appreciative glances from the locals who appreciated the added atmosphere.

"Right. Do you think Franky-san will listen?" asked Brook. Robin bit the inside of her lip in thought, as she thought about the boisterous and eccentric shipwright. If that was him as an adult, what would he be like as a teenager?

"No," conceded Robin, "But we still have to try our best for the sake of Franky and his master, Tom." Brook nodded in agreement.

"We can't leave the possibility of the World Government obtaining one of the Ancient Weapons to chance," concluded Robin determinedly. At that, Crocodile ceased his espionage.

An ancient weapon that the government was pursuing, hidden by a couple of shipwrights? Oh yes, Nico Robin had proven useful. True, it would be best to persuade her to join him sooner than later but beating the World Government to seize this price came first.

Crocodile took a deep drag of his cigar as he sat back, contemplating what the best way to go about getting his hands on this weapon would be, then let loose the smoke slowly as he looked up at the sky. What a weapon indeed.

* * *

 **Let me know your thoughts, as reviews help both motivate me and give me new ideas to implement. As you can see, canon is about to get turned on its head.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: An Ode to Fisher Tiger**

* * *

Foolshout Island was a relatively peaceful place, all things considered. Early on in Paradise, close to a Marine base, and one largely ignored by the World Nobles with one notable exception in the past. It was yet another crisp, peaceful dawn. Only for it to be interrupted by the large waves that slammed the coast as a massive whale surfaced by the shore.

"Yohohoho! Thank you, Laboon!" exclaimed Brook as a bony hand reached out of the gargantuan whale's blowhole. Stepping out, Brook dusted himself off before reaching back into Laboon's blowhole and offering a hand to Robin. Nodding in thanks, Robin took his hand and gracefully stepped onto Laboon's head, the whale replying with a happy thrill of its voice in acknowledgement of Brook's gratitude.

Gazing around, Brook exclaimed, "Ah, we're here! You said this island was called Foolshout Island, Robin-san?" Robin nodded in response. "Ara, I must admit that I'm not sure why we are here. I can't seem to recall you ever mentioning an adventure on this island before," said Brook as he gestured out at the large cacti-coated flatlands.

Robin offered him a small smile before replying, "You are correct; I've never actually been to this island before, although it is very close to Whiskey Peak. We're actually here for a close friend of mine…as well as to right a great wrong which can be easily averted," replied Robin before turning her attention onto the town which she figured was inland in order to avoid pirate raids.

"I see, yohohoho! Ara, shall we go, Robin-san?" asked Brook

"Mhm," replied Robin as a pathway of arms formed between Laboon's head and a rocky ledge on the shoreline. "We shouldn't have to wait long; from what I can recall of the story, the men we are waiting for should be showing up within a month or so at the latest," said Robin as they casually walked across said bridge, dispelling it once they touched ground.

Turning back, Robin waved at Laboon with a smile. "Don't worry Laboon, we won't be here for too long! We'll be sure to come down here every day!" Laboon's massive head bobbed, content agreement visible in his eyes as he submerged once more.

* * *

And so we spent the next three weeks amongst the townspeople. We settled into our routine cover when on more remote islands; I was a traveling dancer and Brook was my musician. Brook's appearance was explained via the means of mentioning his devil fruit, which quickly got nods of understanding from people that live on the Grand Line, even if the villagers were rather uncomfortable around him. It only took about three weeks of waiting undercover for Fisher Tiger to show up.

* * *

"Nyuu, Captain, we see land!" exclaimed Hachi, his three right arms pointed excitedly at the island in the distance. Koala perked up at Hachi's voice and cheered in excitement, causing all of the nearby fishmen to smile happily at her. Koala really _had_ wormed their way into their hearts. Fisher Tiger stepped out of the ship's interior upon hearing Hachi's call, a small, satisfied smile on his face. He…well, he couldn't escape the hatred in his heart he felt for humanity at large. Not really. Not like he pretended he did. But Koala was different; she was an innocent and just a much of victim of the worst cruelty humanity had to offer to fishmen. He only wished she'd stop trying to be so affectionate towards him. Gazing out on the island, Fisher Tiger couldn't help but get lost in recollections of the past, both good and bad.

And then a gargantuan whale popped out of the water. Eyes widening in shock, the fishmen gaped and gasped before they heard a distant, echoing hint of a voice. The whale's mouth opened wide, and out sailed two…humans? One was a skeleton, but it was a human skeleton. The skeleton man was wildly waving a white flag while the woman ship waved at the fishmen. A low growl echoed out of Arlong's throat at the sight and he made to dive into the water before Fisher Tiger's outstretched arm and shake of the head had him nodding, mildly disgruntled.

"Fisher Tiger-san? Permission to come aboard?" shouted the woman as they neared the ship. Fisher Tiger stared hard at the duo before nodding. Most of the fishmen glowered, weary after having sailed for so long with so many negative experiences with humans in Paradise, but they almost uniformly lowered their guard. The fishmen watched in shock as the woman crossed her arms and a series of legs appeared, which the duo used as a gangplank to come aboard. Koala made to hide behind Tiger's leg, somewhat afraid of the skeleton man accompanying the teenage girl. For once, Fisher Tiger payed her touching him no mind as he continued to stare at the woman with mild hostility.

Coming to a stop, Robin took a step forward to address the Captain of the Sun Pirates; "Fisher Tiger-san. Do you know who I am?" queried the woman neutrally, causing him to cock an eyebrow as he stared at her; that line was almost always followed by some blowhard idiot thinking they could boast their way to victory. But the tone conveyed something entirely different. Analyzing the woman's face, he pondered on it before recognition lit up his eyes.

"Aye. Nico Robin, the Flower Prophet. What brings you to my ship?" questioned Tiger, although it sounded more like a demand than a question. Jinbe shifted next to him, a gruff look on his face with mild consternation; Arlong's sister had long since demonstrated that when verified mystics spoke, one should take their word seriously.

Robin smiled calmly at him as she fell to one knee, confusing the powerful fishman. "Two things. First…to thank you."

The fishmen aboard the ship all collectively gaped in disbelief as Robin prostrated herself in seiza before their captain, head on the ground. "Thank you…thank you so much, for what you did at Mariejois, and for what you did for this girl with you. You have taken the first great step towards the reconciliation of all peoples of the Earth. And we all will never be able to repay you for the bravery you've shown."

Fisher Tiger while not quite mouth agape, stared in shock at the woman. This was a first; he usually received a friendly welcome and a thank you from any former human slaves that he had freed, but this was an entirely new level of gratitude from a human that was making him incredibly uncomfortable in its sincerity. Unacknowledged by him, a small amount of weight lifted from his heart at her words. It was these scarce moments like these that continued to fuel his morality, even if internally he struggled to reign in his hatred.

"…Nico-san, were you once a slave?" questioned Tiger as he crossed his arms. Robin shook her head, which was still down. "Not for the ones you're thinking of, but yes, for a short while." Brook stared blankly at his nakama while the questions ran through his head; Robin had never mentioned such a thing to him!

Inside her head, Robin couldn't help but replay all she'd seen and learned of the cruelty of the Celestial Dragons, scenes from her short time as a slave in Tequila Wolf, and most of all, Nami's recounting of the tale Jinbe had told her on Fishman Island, supporting a devastated Koala when she'd found out the true fate of Fisher Tiger partway through her time with the Revolutionaries, and the price put on her head in a past life by the same evil men that had ruined the lives of so many of her friends.

' _Thank you so much Tiger-san, for all you've done for Koala. For being the first to take a stand against those devils in men's skin. And for trying your best to look past all the wrongs humans keep committing against your people. I think that you'd have liked Luffy. He'd have almost certainly tried to make a friend out of you.'_

Standing up to meet his gaze, she discreetly looked around to gauge the moods of the fishmen. It was in a word, ecstatic. Most were openly happy and celebrating at their Captain's legend. Jinbe's usual gruff demeanor seemed lessened as he grinned, pleased by her words. Even Arlong looked torn between scowling at her and cheering alongside his brethren. Koala, while slightly confused got the gist of what she was saying, and was happily laughing alongside Hachi and Chew.

"The second," she continued, halting most of the celebrating, "is to deliver some rather grave news relating to you," she said as she pointed at first Fisher Tiger, "and you," to Koala. Koala pointed at herself in confusion. "Ara?"

Seeing that she had everybody's full attention, she elaborated on, "Koala is the first seed towards a better future between humans and fishmen, but if it were left up to fate, the village you're about to leave her in will do their best to burn this seed to ashes."

Most of the fishmen, Koala, and Brook looked at her in confusion but a few of the savvier fishmen, Fisher Tiger included, had their moods darken at her words. Jinbe did his best to appear aloof, but he couldn't but to begin eyeing Koala wearily as though already anticipating some form of betrayal. Robin wasn't blind to this.

"To be clear, Koala will never betray you. She loves you all, just as much as she loves her own biological family. Maybe even more. The people that will betray you," she stated as she hitched her thumb behind her towards the island, "are the townsfolk. They're going to call the Marines on you, and Koala won't be any wiser. They unfortunately, are not the generation with which prejudice will die. If I were to do nothing…today, you would die."

Several of the fishmen exclaimed angrily, and Arlong grinned viciously as he had been more than hoping for an excuse. He was almost to the ledge of the ship before an angry "Arlong!" convinced him to back away, an angry, pissed off grin stuck on his face as he thought about what he wanted to do to the miserable, inferior shitstains living in that town.

Fisher Tiger's face was unreadable but his body language made it clear that he was tense, and taking what she was saying deathly seriously. He'd met Shyarly. He knew how these things worked. Slowly, he audibly let loose the breath he'd been holding.

"So now I know. Why are you here, other than to tell me to say my last prayers?" demanded Fisher Tiger, his mind clouded by the hatred and bad will humanity seemed to inherently possess towards his kind. Truthfully, he was weary. This was only the latest in his string of negative encounters with humanity. Thankfully, Robin was a patient and diplomatic almost-adult woman.

"I came here to avoid a tragedy," stated Robin, "and I'm here to tell you what to do to change your fate." Fisher Tiger's frown lessened slightly as he gestured for her to go on.

"Ask Koala to walk into town, and tell her to ask her mother was she thinks about fishmen. Then tell her to ask her what she would do if she saw a fishman. I believe that Koala will show you all once and for all where her loyalties lay and who her family truly is. If you were to die today…it would devastate her. She'd spend the rest of her life blaming herself for your death," proclaimed Robin as her eyes flickered to the wide-eyed Koala.

Fisher Tiger was quiet for quite a while before nodding in acceptance. Turning to Koala, he asked her if she'd understood what Robin had said, to which the girl nodded, eyes still wide and slightly confused. "Go on Koala, go home to your family. But don't forget to ask them what Nico-san said. And remember, that we'll be here for one more hour." Koala nodded before disembarking and hesitantly waving goodbye at her fishman family. Their goodbyes were muted as they quietly watched her turn around and walk away towards the town.

Gesturing at Robin as the two watched Koala walk away, Fisher Tiger couldn't help but ask; "Last time I had somebody read my future, they were very vague and told me absolutely nothing useful. And what they predicted ended up happening no matter what I did. This is the first time I've seen a seer actually tell me that I can change the future, and how to do so. What's your trick?"

A calm smile graced Robin's face as she said, "It's a bit of a secret Tiger-san, but I guess I'm a bit unique. Somehow, it feels to me as though I've lived through all of this before."

* * *

Everything happened more or less as I had predicted. Koala had gotten home and had a tearful reunion with her mother. But a tearful reunion quickly turned into shock, followed by outrage at the vileness and hate spewing from the mouth of Koala's mother that had once been the catalyst for the girl fleeing home young and joining the Revolutionary Army. The girl had fled in tears straight back to the Sun Pirates and clung to Fisher Tiger for dear life, sobbing incomprehensibly as she declared the Sun Pirates to be her only family. Fisher Tiger comforted the small girl as he rubbed the top of her head in small circles, seemingly having overcome his distaste for humanity when pitted against the emotional girl who'd joined their crew and had become one of them. Not even Arlong could bring himself to say anything negative at the sight as Koala declared herself a Sun Pirate forever.

And then the Navy showed up, although it was thankfully only one ship that had seemingly been on patrol rather than the full ambush that had happened in another life. The bad news was that it was the future Admiral Kizaru's flagship. The Sun Pirates had been quick to flee successfully as Brook and I volunteered to play bait. Fisher Tiger thanked us profusely as he escaped, promising that he'd one day match the kindness we'd shown him.

In hindsight, I was terrified but the three of us had practiced this maneuver ahead of time in case a day like this ever came. Brook and I quickly jumped into Laboon's blowhole as the gargantuan whale dove deep, just as Kizaru flashed where Laboon's head had formerly been after lazily contemplating whether to stop us. Unable to fight us once we were in the water, we easily escaped.

* * *

"Son! I'm off now, this time probably for good. But I know we'll meet again," murmured Yassop as he fondly messed his son's hair, kneeling on one knee before him. Little Ussop's eyes were swimming in tears, a brave but shaky smile on his lips as the Red Hair Pirates gazed on with wry, approving grins at saying goodbye to their newest young friend. Shanks and Beckmann in particular stood just behind Yassop, a wild grin on Shanks' face and Beckmann sporting a small, approving smirk.

"Who would have thought that Yassop's son would be just as likeable as Luffy? We came by originally just to pick up Yassop but instead we got roped into hanging out here for over a month, teaching his kid all about being a pirate," whispered Beckmann.

"-your aim is amazing already. Just keep practicing to make sure it's even better. You're still a bit shaky in close combat, but just remember what Beckmann showed ya and you'll be fine; when in doubt, smash em with your weapon. Also remember that while it's good to be amazing with one weapon, if you can get better at multiple, then the sky's the limit. And-"

"Jeez Yasopp, let the kid breathe!" laughed Shanks, "He's got a good head on his shoulders and he's an absolute sponge for learning any trick we can give him! He'll be fine!"

Yasopp turned back to shoot his captain a dirty glance before focusing back on the smiling Usopp, who's eyes were still wet but was no longer openly crying. "Anyways. The Captain's right, son. You'll be fine. Just don't stop practicing, and I know you'll be great. Just never forget this; don't back down. Don't give up. Never run away from a challenge. So long as you never retreat, you'll always overcome any obstacle in your way."

Yasopp pulled his son into a brief, but tight hug before pulling away, and patting him on the arms in comfort, before lighting up in remembrance. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a red headband.

"Here son. This is my lucky headband. I always carry it with me, and it's seen me through many battles. It's also the headband I had on when I first met your mother, and when I first met the Captain. Lucky things just seem to happen when I have it on, and I think that you should have it. Consider it a gift," chuckled Yasopp, "From your old man, to you. You still have your mother's necklace, right?"

Usopp nodded fervently in confirmation.

"Good! Between my lucky headband and your mother's necklace, good luck and happiness will follow you everywhere you go. When you go out to see, take them with you. I know they'll serve you well!" Usopp quickly pulled off his bandana, and donned on his father's headband with a proud grin.

With all that said, Yasopp stood up and turned away, flanked by his Captain and Beckmann as they made their way onto their ship. "Yosh! We'll meet again son! Next time I see you, it'll be on the Grand Line!"

"I WILL!" shouted Usopp, "I will! We'll meet again dad! Just wait for me to grow up! I'll make you proud! I'll never back down! I'll never run away! I'm going to become the greatest sniper in the world!" Snot and tears ran down his face through a strong but wavering smile, his arms waving wildly as the ship set sail.

"Make sure to practice your melee skills, kid! A sniper's only as good as the distance between them and an opponent! If they get too close, throw down until they're far away again!" said Beckmann as he lazily waved at the boy.

"I WILL! I'LL HIT SO HARD I'LL SEND THEM FLYING INTO THE SUNSET!"

"Make sure to eat plenty of meat! You need protein to get those muscles!" exclaimed Lucky Roo as he waved a leg of mutton in farewell.

"I WILL! I'LL EAT THREE SQUARE MEALS A DAY, AND DRINK PLENTY OF MILK!"

"Be sure to meet up with that Luffy kid I told you about, Yasopp-mini! You guys'll get along like peas in a pod, I swear!" shouted Shanks as smiled and waved goodbye to his friend.

"I WILL!"

* * *

"YAY! Brook, Robin, you're back!" exclaimed an overexcited rubber boy as sprinted pell-mell at the approaching duo. The two were dressed in their usual, although slightly unusually, both Brook and Robin were carrying large backpacks on their backs as they made their way to Dadan's cabin. Reaching the two, Luffy jumped at them as to embrace them, and accidentally triggered his devil fruit powers. Arms expanding, rather than wrapping the two in a hug, his arms began to spin wildly around the trio in circles, covering most of their torsos in the rubber boy's arms. Robin, who'd made to catch Luffy in his hug had her arms wrapped around his torso, but her arms were now pinned thanks to the stretchy appendages. Brook too was snugly pinned in the boy's hug, unable to do much but laugh his usual trilling laugh in amusement. Robin's smile was demure but happy as she giggled at the boy's antics.

"Oi, Luffy, stop being so clumsy. You're gonna fa-"

"Shishishi-ah!" "Yohohoho-ah!" "*gigg*-ah!"

The trio clumsily fell over, still trapped in the rubber boy's arms. Ace sighed, shook his head, and walked over as he helped disentangle the trio from each other. Luffy laughed as his stretched arms retracted back to his sides with a snap.

"Oh! Right! Robin, Brook, this is my brother Ace! And I have another brother too! Where's Sabo, Ace?" questioned Luffy as he looked around wildly, as though anticipating his brother to jump out of the foliage.

Ace just smiled, a slightly sinister chuckle echoing out of his throat.

"Yahhhhhhhhhhh!" came a shout from above.

"Ack! Sabo you cheater!" shouted Luffy as he scrambled to roll out of the way of Sabo's falling swipe at his head with his metal pipe. Robin's eyebrow cocked up, slightly confused by the seemingly violent attack before dismissing the apparently lethal attack; Luffy being rubber, wouldn't be harmed by blunt force. Didn't mean that the boys weren't stupid for sparring with something that could bludgeon a man to death.

Luffy had in turn picked up another pipe which Robin noted he had dropped when he'd spotted them, and made to swipe back at Sabo who easily sidestepped out of the way. Ace grinned as he too joined in the melee. Brook and Robin watched awkwardly as the boy's 'sparring' turned into a wrestling match, and from a wrestling match into a hair pulling and biting competition.

Crossing her arms, Robin pulled the three boys apart. Luffy pouted. Sabo grinned sheepishly. Ace grumped.

"Well. That's enough of that for now. Luffy, Ace, Sabo, I have something to tell you. Garp asked me to-why are the three of you cowering?" questioned Robin as the three immediately crouched into fighting positions, arms trembling and weapons in a death grip as their eyes zoomed from one spot to another.

"Grandpa's been training us while you were gone. Like, REALLY training us," shuddered Luffy.

"COME OUT AND FIGHT ME YOU STUPID OLD MAN!" shouted Ace with far more bravado than he clearly felt, as his teeth started chattering in nervousness.

"I'm not even your grandkid dammit, leave me out of it! This is child abuse! I should report you to the Navy dammit!" shouted Sabo as he stamped his foot on the ground in delirious frustration, torn between crying and raging.

Robin and Brook both wearily gazed about, as Brook's hands rested on his cane, ready to fight. Robin didn't react visibly but a thin sweat appeared on her forehead at the thought of having another round of Garp's Chase of Love. Her heart still hadn't recovered from the last one.

After a minute or two of weariness, the kids slowly lowered their guard and stopped yelling obscenities, threats, pleas, and prayers at the air, causing the other two to calm.

"What the hell's going ON!?" came a voice from the inside of the hut. Out stepped a rather large, brusque woman, flanked by several men who were visibly mountain bandits. A rather large tick of frustration grew on her temple as she took in the sight of the two newcomers with backpacks.

"Oh no. Oh no. Oh HELL no. Not again. First I took in that brat, Ace. Then the bottomless pit, Luffy. Hell, I even took in their little friend who's at least polite about it. But I am NOT a motel! GARP! GARP! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE! I AM NOT YOUR PERSONAL FOSTER HOME FOR BRATS AND FREAKS! DO YOU HEAR ME DAMMIT!" raged the woman as she stamped her foot on the ground repeatedly in anger.

Robin just blinked in confusion. Brook merely stared before realizing she was calling him a freak, and slumped in depression. "I have feelings too..."

"Ara, that's too bad. We were ready to pay you for your hospitality too…" said Robin as she looked down, tracing a circle in the dirt with her feet. Nobody noticed that her hair was covering the sly, confident grin she was sporting.

"OH! Well then, that changes everything! Come in, come in! What brings you to Mt. Colubo darling?" asked Dadan as she came behind the two newcomers and swept them into the house. Luffy, Ace, and Sabo just stared blankly at the now closed door before shrugging and resuming their battle.

* * *

 _Some Time Later_

"So you're going to…teach us?" asked Luffy, head tilted sideways in confusion as he and his brothers sat before his two nakama.

Robin nodded in the affirmative, before gesturing at Brook. "Your grandfather, Garp, has commissioned us to teach the three of you until you're ready to join the Marines, Luffy." Luffy merely let out a loud raspberry in response, causing the three boys and Brook to break out into chortling laughter. Robin didn't react as arms sprouted on each of their backs and slapped them upside the head.

"OW!"

"I didn't say you'd join the Navy, Luffy. Just that I'm teaching you three until you'd be ready to join," said Robin. Luffy merely stared back, confused, but Ace and Sabo both cottoned on.

"Oh, I getcha. Devious, lady. I like it," grinned Ace.

"Robin-san."

"Nah. I'd rather call you lad-OW! Dammit, stop doing that, you crazy woman!" exclaimed Ace as he clutched the new bump on his head. Robin's smile, for the first time Brook could recall, became slightly strained.

"Robin-san."

"Nah, I think I'd much rather call you she-devi-OW!"

"Robin-san, if you please."

"Take a hike you crazy bit-OWWWWW!"

Sabo just sighed in exasperation as Luffy laughed his ass off.

' _Everybody told me that Ace was really polite. This…is not polite,'_ thought Robin resignedly as she resolved to teach the brat some manners.

* * *

 _Several Months Later_

I'm forced to wonder if there's a purpose to what I'm really doing, after this latest set of events. Will my mother and Saul die inexplicably to Aokiji in the near future? Has Fisher Tiger already died an ignoble death to the Marines? Will I somehow, magically see Brook lose his shadow to Moriah in a few years? Sometimes, it seems, that the more you try to change things, the more they stay the same.

As the crew's historian, a personal hobby of mine had been to make a log of our voyage, as well as a history of the Straw Hats. It's why I even had a prayer of changing my nakama's histories, precisely because I'd spent a fair amount of time asking them about their pasts and writing it down into a journal, with the aspiration of one day writing it all into a book. One of the stories I'd managed to get out of Luffy on the way to Zou had been the tale of the 'Sabo Incident'. I had some idea of what had happened, as I'd already previously discussed the topic with Sabo during my stay with the Revolutionaries. But with Luffy's account, I felt like I'd formed a clear picture of the sequence of events, which was why I was so determined to change its outcome. It seemed rather straightforward. Disrupt the arrival of the World Noble. Sabo is then free to sail off. Simple. Easy.

Brook and I had supposedly left for about a month or so on a journey. Truthfully, we were staying in the Goa Kingdom in order to gather information about the arrival of a World Noble. Our plan was simple; have Laboon capsize the Noble's ship, throwing off its aim if or when Sabo sets sail, by swimming underneath it.

The day came, and we did just that. The ship capsized. The threat of Sabo being hit with a cannon was over. But, and this was a major oversight; Sabo's ship capsized too from the gargantuan waves Laboon generated as he broke to the surface. And Sabo had been swept out to sea by the currents. Laboon, unfamiliar with Sabo, was unable to help us find him among the hundreds of Marines in the water. As a result, Brook and I had to row about in our own small ship, desperately looking for the boy.

It was near sunset by the time we spotted a blonde patch of hair floating out at sea. But then, and this is possibly the worst part of this entire tale; the creature Luffy dubbed 'The Lord of the Coast' appeared, and dove straight at the boy. We were too far to do anything but panic as our erstwhile pupil looked to be devoured.

Then something unbelievable happened. Dragon happened. The Lord of the Sea was instantly smacked aside by the man, and the exhausted boy was rescued by him, only to almost immediately pass out due to said exhaustion, caused by trying to stay afloat for over a day. Dragon's ship approached ours, and Ivankov asked us if we knew the boy. I cut off Brook, compelled for reasons I can't begin to understand, to say that no, we did not. Dragon stared at me before grinning wryly and nodding. Sabo set off with the Revolutionaries.

What am I even doing? How could I have let Sabo even get in such a dangerous position in the first place? Why was I so _fucking_ cocky? I…I don't even know what's happening anymore. I changed the future once, and I'm suddenly convinced that I can change anything. Then I drop the ball at such a critical moment. I…

I guess that I can admit that yes, I have been cocky. Ever since I saved the people of Ohara, everything has been going my way. I've changed everything I've wanted exactly how I wanted it. I saved Brook. I saved Fisher Tiger. I helped Koala. I hate to admit it but…I've been taking that for granted. I've been complacent, and lax. I've let things slide by, when I shouldn't have. This is the first time that it's blown up in my face. I'm almost afraid to wonder about what I've unintentionally changed but…

I can't simply reenact the past. No more than I can carry out as a hermit, removing myself from the world until Luffy ends up in Alabasta ready to beat Crocodile. I just can't be complacent, not anymore. If I want something to happen, I've got to stack the deck. I can't do things halfway. I was lucky that in the end, Sabo was alright. But it does beg the question of how such an astronomical thing could have happened twice in a row. What are the chances of it?

It's why I'm honestly terrified at the thought that this world converges with the history of my own; that some events are simply bound to happen, no matter how much I defy them. I refuse to believe it but, a part of me can't help but doubt and fear that this is all for naught what with this latest incident flaunting my failures back at me. Until this failure, this world still didn't feel truly real to me. But now rather than overconfident and in disbelief, this world feels heavier, and the consequences feel real. I miss my crew. My old crew. Will I ever wake up from this world, and get to be with them again? Or am I here, forever?

Well.

That's enough moping. Brook has been an excellent sympathetic ear to me, but he doesn't doubt me at all, not even after this latest failure. Sometimes I wish that he wasn't so enthusiastic and ready to follow my lead; he trusts me implicitly and doesn't question any of my plans even though sometimes, I really wish he would. He's determined to see our united crew together to the very end, and he's put his faith in me. I can't let him down, not after giving him so much hope for the future. I can't fail him or any of our other nakama. We'll be together again soon. This, I swear.

In the meantime, let's at least go tell Luffy and Ace that their brother is still alive and well.

* * *

 **Alright, a longer break than usual between chapters, but that's because school keeps a man busy. I was also spending that time trying to figure out where I wanted to take the plot from here. As you can see, I'm rather sparse on the details at times and am more than content to speed the story along. I mean, I could always give you a full retelling of everything that happens. But where's the fun in that? Who wants to read canon again, every time they read a new fanfic? But then, I'm a big fan of Chekhov's Gun; only tell exactly what's needed to advance the story, and if something gets introduced, make sure that it matters later. Part of the reason why I don't really bother detailing things like the layout of a locale, a character's outfit, one-time side characters, etc. No point bogging you guys down in the details that you probably already know if you're reading One Piece fanfics. Do rest assured, once we get to proper 'arcs', interactions, and moment to moment detail will be far more fleshed out. Robin's changes to the past are only setting up stage props; the real show has yet to begin.**

 **I also got some feedback that really doubted the scene in Water 7 last chapter. One thing that I should have probably been clearer about when I mentioned that Crocodile could lip read; Robin wasn't necessarily voicing out 'Ancient Weapon'. She likely whispered or mouthed it at Brook, and so I left that up to your interpretation. Crocodile's just that good. Why is she talking about the Ancient Weapon at all in Water 7? Well, as this chapter addresses, she's gotten overconfident recently. This is her moment of 'Oh, shit. I fucked up.' Until recently, she was also still harboring impressions that this world wasn't 'real real'. Hence why she took things lightly. Robin will be far less prone to silly mistakes like that in the future.**

 **Finally, why didn't Robin detect the Croc if she has Observation Haki? Well, part of the answer is above; she was overconfident, cocky, and in a limited state of disbelief of this world. The rest of the answer is, why would she have her Haki turned on? Observation Haki has to be consciously willed 'on', unless you're Aisa. And at this time, there's absolutely no danger in Water 7. No CP9 infiltration, no Galley-La company which the World Government is heavily dependent upon for ships, nada. Ergo, she wouldn't have her haki on.**

 **Drop a review with your thoughts, suggestions, and ideas. I'm still in the brainstorming phase of pulling a plot together from the playdough I've given myself, and plan to make heavy use of flashbacks to extrapolate on things that could have happened offscreen when these elements become relevant. No promises on using them, but any and all idea fuel is appreciated.**


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